Congress to Release White Paper on BRS' Misuse of Funds; BRS Gears Up

HYDERABAD: The Congress government is all set to “expose” the financial mismanagement of the previous BRS regime by releasing a White Paper on Wednesday, and the principal opposition BRS is firm on making a presentation to put its version of the events.

Deputy Chief Minister and finance minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka will release the White Paper, while BRS senior leader T. Harish Rao has submitted a representation to Speaker G. Prasad Kumar seeking permission for his party to make a presentation.

With the session likely to be stormy, Congress leaders said the party needed to take a relook at its floor management. The indifference of some ministers and lack of experience of newly elected members came to the fore during the debate on motion of thanks to the Governor’s address, leaving Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy to wage a lone battle against the aggressive Opposition.

“Revanth Reddy left his mark though it was his maiden address as Chief Minister. But, the treasury benches were silent all through and they did not react even to the CM’s reference to the Six Guarantees and Sonia Gandhi’s political sacrifice of losing power at the Centre by granting statehood to Telangana. This is in contrast to the practice of the ruling party members thumping desks to express support to the Leader of the House,” a senior leader pointed out. Congress members should also raise their voice against the Opposition’s aggression, the leader added.

Sources said the Deputy Chief Minister will focus on how the BRS pushed the state government into a debt trap by increasing borrowings from Rs 69,000 crore in 2014 to Rs 5.5 lakh crore in 2023. For the current fiscal (2023-24), the state government is eligible to borrow Rs 38,334 crore; the BRS government had taken loans for 85 per cent of the limit by December.

On behalf of the BRS Legislature Party, Harish Rao, who held the irrigation and finance portfolios in the BRS government, said in a letter written to the Speaker that “in the event the government is allowed to make a presentation, we, as the principal opposition party, too should be offered a similar opportunity so we can present our side of the story.”