KTR Slams Centre For Ignoring Telangana In Union Budget

Responding to the neglecting of Telangana in the union budget for 2024-25 by union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman, BRS working president K T Rama Rao said, "We had hoped that the Telugu daughter-in-law would allocate significant funds to Telangana in the union budget. But what we got was nothing. Despite the budget being over Rs 48 lakh crore, only a few States received major benefits. It is disappointing that Telangana was not even mentioned in the budget."

He said that in the past former chief minister K Chandrashekar Rao had requested the Union government to take decisions on nearly 35 promises made under the Andhra Pradesh Reorganization Act. "We repeatedly wrote letters and made appeals. But 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 project in the State," he said.

"We requested for national institutes such as an IIM, but not a single one was given. We asked for funds for industrial corridors from Telangana to Mumbai-Nagpur, and Hyderabad-Bengaluru and Hyderabad-Chennai, but there was no response. We also requested the establishment of a new handloom cluster along with a mega powerloom cluster, but the Central government did not respond. Even the requests made by the present Chief Minister and ministers from Telangana during their visits to Delhi were ignored. Once again, Telangana has received nothing in this union budget," he added.

"The people of Telangana should think about what happened after they gave 16 seats to the national parties the BJP and the Congress. They should consider the funds allocated to Andhra Pradesh and Bihar, which sent more MPs to Parliament from single parties, and compare that to what Telangana got. The BJP and Congress MPs sitting in Parliament did not speak a word on behalf of Telangana after the huge snub. If there were MPs from our party in Parliament, they would have strongly opposed the Central government's stance. The Telangana people will nevertheless certainly teach a lesson to the BJP government for giving zero funds to the State despite having eight MPs," he said.

"The Central government however did not mention the word Telangana even once when discussing the Andhra Pradesh Reorganization Act. They announced special funds for the capital Amaravathi, 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. The union finance minister mentioned the Andhra Pradesh Reorganization Act, but ignored the demands of Telangana," he lamented.