A sibling political rivalry has broken out over the ‘special treatment’ meted out to Andhra Pradesh in the Union Budget for 2024-25, with the leaders from Telangana, cutting across party lines, blaming the NDA government for showing discrimination.
It is widely believed that the coalition politics guided the budgetary allocations as Andhra Pradesh and Bihar, ruled by the NDA’s key allies Telugu Desam Party and Janata Dal (U) respectively, walked away with the lion’s share.
“I was shocked to see that there was no mention of Telangana anywhere in the budget though the state had given eight MPs to the BJP. The people had thought the BJP would do some good to Telangana, but now, after seeing the injustice done, the BJP should realise that the countdown for its existence in Telangana has begun,” Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy said.
The opposition Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) too attacked the Centre for showing ‘step-motherly treatment’ towards Telangana while announcing liberal financial assistance to Andhra Pradesh, including special funds for building the capital city, Amaravathi, and for the completion of the Polavaram irrigation project.
“We have no problem with Andhra Pradesh getting the funds for its development. We have a problem with Telangana not getting a share,” the BRS working president and former minister KT Rama Rao said.
Revanth Reddy described the Union Budget as reflective of the anxiety of the NNDA (Naidu, Nitish, Dependent Alliance) to stay in power. “It is a quid pro quo budget. Narendra Modi, to save his chair, had bartered projects to Bihar and Andhra Pradesh for the continuation of the support of Naidu and Nitish to his government,” he said.
He lashed out at the BJP Telangana leaders for acting like slaves to Narendra Modi. “Kishan Reddy, who is union minister in Modi’s cabinet, should step down for failing to get any funds or projects for Telangana,” Revanth Reddy said and added that people needed an explanation from him as to why the budget had turned out to be an empty shell for Telangana.
The Chief Minister took serious exception to Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan writing to him to inform that it was not possible to sanction IIM to Telangana without assigning any reason. “In the budget, when the Finance Minister was referring to the Andhra Pradesh State Reorganisation Act, 2014, to announce support for Amaravati and Polavaram, she did not care to talk about Telangana though the Act applied equally to our state,” the Chief Minister said.
He wanted to know why the centre had not bothered to allocate funds for the Musi Riverfront Project, Metro Rail expansion, Regional Ring Road construction, Palamuru Ranga Reddy Lift Irrigation Scheme, or the several promises made to Telangana as part of the Bifurcation Act including railway coach factory at Kazipet and steel factory at Bayyaram.
He said the NDA government did not bother to act on any of the representations that he and his cabinet colleagues had made to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other central ministers, seeking funds from the Centre.
“I myself have met the prime minister thrice. I even called him bade bhai, hoping that he would act like one and handhold the state which as the leader of the nation, he should. But he remained unmoved,” Revanth Reddy said.
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