K Chandrasekhar Rao: Telangana Budget presented in the Assembly on Thursday fails to address key issues, policies Criticising the budget, BRS chief K Chandrasekhar Rao said it has been presented as a colourful picture and has failed to address key issues and policies. Speaking to reporters at the Assembly Media Point, Rao, who appeared in the House for the first time as the Leader of Opposition (LoP), said the budget did not provide any guarantee for any section of the public while no new welfare scheme has been announced. Earlier, the Telangana government presented a budget of Rs 2.91 lakh crore which includes a total revenue of Rs 2.21 lakh crore and capital expenditure of Rs 33, 487 crore while the total debt of the state during the last ten years stood at Rs 6.71 lakh crore. “What is your (government) industrial policy, what is your agriculture policy or IT policy? There is nothing. It is all just gas and garbage.
Apart from presenting a colourful picture and telling a story, it does not look like a presentation of the budget,” Rao, also known as KCR, said. “The government failed to address the core issues and formulate clear policies on sectors like industry, IT and agriculture,” he said. Terming it an ‘anti-poor’ budget, Rao said his party would campaign against the state government and the budget in the future. As far as agriculture is concerned, the previous BRS government had a clear understanding that the sector should be stabilised in the state and the Rythu Bandhu (investment support) should be extended to farmers twice a year. However, the current government is saying they will avoid it, he alleged. It is well known that this is an anti-farmer government. They (the government) are not buying paddy from farmers and not supplying quality electricity… the government has betrayed the farmers,” Rao criticised. He said though the BRS wanted to give at least six months’ time after forming the government, the Congress regime failed to formulate any policy, forcing the opposition party to attack it.
