Hyderabad: Lashing out at Congress at the Telangana Assembly on Thursday, December 19, the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) floor leader Akbaruddin Owaisi accused the state government of following the footsteps of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) at the Centre. He warned that it was affecting Telangana.
Akbar Owaisi slams Cong for mirroring Centre, cautions about Telangana’s future
While discussing the state’s outstanding liabilities, Akbar Owaisi responded to deputy chief minister Bhatti Vikramarka’s claim that Telangana’s outstanding debt rose from Rs 75,577 crore in March 2014, to Rs 6,71,751 crore by March 2024. “The government has been seeking to restrict Telangana’s borrowing capacity under the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management (FRBM),” he said.
He said the Congress government was combining its debts with those of public sector undertakings, with and without the government’s guarantees, liabilities of major works and unpaid bills on works and supplies to inflate the total state’s liabilities figures.
“We cannot follow the same yardstick of the Centre which is harmful to Telangana’s fiscal interests while calculating its public debt,” he said, adding, “Just to corner the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS), please don’t risk and put Telangana’s future in the dark. With this picture, you are sending away the investors.”
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Akbar Owaisi found fault with the state government for tabling the statement of fiscal policy without crucial fiscal data.
This includes information about the guarantees given by the government, outstanding risks and weighted guarantees, statement of assets, tax revenues raised and not realised, statement of liabilities of major works and unpaid bills of works and supplies, and the statement of the number of employees in the government, public sector, aided institutions, expenditure on salaries and pensions.
Accusing BRS and the Congress governments of keeping crucial data under wraps, Akbar Owaisi forwarned the state government that they are a ruling party because of the people of Telangana. If they continue their ways, the people will not hesitate to turn to a third option, he cautioned.
“My only concern is that if the people chose a third option, it would be neither good for you (Congress government), nor for them (BRS) and nor me (AIMIM,” Akbar Owaisi said followed by a burst of laughter in the House.
Disclosing Reserve Bank of India’s state finances- a study on the budget for 2024-2025, which was released on Thursday, Akbar Owaisi said the figures provided regarding the state’s liabilities did not match with the data furnished by the deputy speaker. “Why don’t you convince the RBI that their data is wrong instead of convincing us? Tell them to correct their data. You should send your bureaucrats to fight with RBI and get their numbers changed,” he quipped.
Akbar Owaisi also reminded the House that, as per his recollection, this was the ninth time the state’s liabilities had been discussed in the past year. He expressed hope that this time, the discussion would lead to some resolution, urging the Congress government to show greater transparency, particularly during the upcoming budget sessions in February 2025.
