Hyderabad: While the Union Budget had sparked cheers in Andhra Pradesh, the Centre received brickbats in Telangana for no significant state-specific allocations.
The ruling party at the Centre -- BJP -- has eight MPs from Telangana, and the saffron party has only started making steady inroads into India's youngest state.
Two Telangana BJP MPs, G Kishan Reddy and Bandi Sanjay, are part of the union cabinet.
State irrigation and civil supplies minister Capt N Uttam Kumar Reddy said that the Union Budget was highly disappointing for Telangana as it deprived the state of its share in resources and welfare schemes.
Uttam Kumar Reddy said that the budget was politically motivated and drafted not for the people but to please the BJP's allies, the JD (U) and TDP. While Bihar was given financial aid of Rs 41,000 crore, Andhra Pradesh got Rs 15,000 crore and other sops, including funds for the completion of the Polavaram project. Congress-ruled states, especially Telangana, were totally neglected, he said.
"This was the 11th budget after the formation of Telangana in 2014, but the new state remained neglected by the Centre. For the first time since 2014, a separate chapter titled 'Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act' was incorporated in the budget, but the Finance Minister did not mention the word 'Telangana' in her entire speech of 58 pages and 14,692 words," he said.
Uttam Kumar Reddy condemned Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman for completely skipping the mention of Telangana when she spoke about the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act in her budget speech.
"While we are not against the Centre giving special funds to Andhra Pradesh, we strongly condemn its discrimination towards Telangana. Led by Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy, a delegation of Telangana ministers submitted various applications to all ministries in the last seven months seeking funds for various projects. But our pleas were completely ignored. The BJP government promised to fund the Polavaram project but gave no assurance in her budget speech today of giving funds for the Palamuru Ranga Lift Irrigation Scheme,” he said.
He said eight BJP MPs, including two Union Ministers, failed to get a decent share for Telangana in the Union Budget.
BRS working president, KT Rama Rao, said that he had hoped that Telugu daughter-in-law-- Nirmala Sitharaman -- would allocate significant funds to Telangana in the central budget. But what we got was nothing.
“Despite having a budget of more than Rs 48 lakh crore, only a few states received major benefits. It is disappointing that Telangana is not mentioned in the entire budget. Once again, Telangana has received nothing. In the past, KCR requested that the central government take decisions on nearly 35 promises made under the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act. We have repeatedly written letters and made appeals. There is no mention of additional funds for Mulugu University, the Bayyaram Steel Factory, or the Railway Coach Factory in Kazipet. Despite our requests, national status has not been granted to any irrigation projects in the state,“ he said.
KTR also reminded that his government in the past requested central national institutes such as IIM, but not a single one was given.
He also said that the people of Telangana should think about what happened when they gave 16 seats to national parties like the BJP and Congress.
“We have no issue with the funds given to Andhra Pradesh. As a brotherly state, we wish them well and support their allocations. However, the central government did not mention the word 'Telangana' even once when discussing the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act. They announced special funds for the capital, Amaravati, Polavaram, and industrial development. They promised special funds for Andhra Pradesh industrial corridors. We are happy with the significant funds given to Andhra Pradesh. But it is truly disappointing to see that only Andhra Pradesh and Bihar received funds while the remaining 26 states were overlooked.
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