TRS Spending Only 35% Of Budgeted Amounts: Congress

Leader Of Opposition in the Telangana Legislative Council Mohammed Ali Shabbir today alleged that the TRS government made tall claims of having the largest welfare budget in the country at Rs. 40,000 crores, but was in practice spending only 30% to 35% of the amount.

Speaking at the Assembly media point along with his deputy Ponguleti Sudhakar Reddy, Shabbir Ali demanded that the state government release a white paper on the expenditure incurred so far on the welfare programs for BC/SC/STs and minorities.

He claimed that the Chief Minister had been granting boons like fish, sheep and Jersey cows for free to almost every household in the state, but most of them were just on paper.

On the new announcement of Rs. 1,000 crores for MBCs (Most Backward Classes), Shabbir Ali said that the CM was merely playing with the sentiments of the gullible people. He questioned the criteria for defining MBCs, and sought to know which of the 144 sub-groups of BCs would benefit.

As the allocation for BCs was just Rs. 5,070 crores, it would be better for the state government to implement the programs endorsed by the Assembly rather than those modified, "manipulated" or redesigned in Pragati Bhavan, he said.

Ponguleti Sudakar Reddy said that the TRS government had failed on all fronts and had therefore started its election campaign in advance by announcing sops for different communities and castes. He also demanded compensation of Rs 10 lakhs to the kin of farmer Krishna Yadav of Nakrekal, and jobs for his children.