Hyderabad: Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy and Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka met Prime Minister Narendra Modi at his Delhi residence on Tuesday, putting forth a list of demands and clearance of central dues to the state in the meeting that lasted for half an hour.
The meeting marked Revanth Reddy’s first meeting with the Prime Minister in his official capacity, while also marking a meeting between the Prime Minister and a Telangana CM after a two-year-four-month gap. Relations between then chief minister K. Chandrashekar Rao and Modi had soured following the Huzurabad bypoll in October 2021.
After the meeting, Bhatti briefed the media in Revanth Reddy’s presence about the details of the meeting, saying they requested Modi to fulfil promises made to Telangana during the bifurcation and release of pending central grants to Telangana.
Reddy and Bhatti briefed Modi about the financial crisis and huge debt burden faced by Telangana, on account of alleged financial mismanagement by the previous BRS government, and urged him to extend help to the state to put the state’s finances back on track.
They also submitted the White Paper on the state's finances to Modi, which was tabled in the Legislative Assembly last week. It comprises details of how the previous BRS government increased the debt burden of Telangana state from '72,658 crore in 2014 to '6.71 lakh crore in 2023.
Addressing mediapersons, Bhatti said that the previous BRS government, in the past 10 years, “miserably failed to secure the promises and rights of Telangana” that were incorporated in the AP Reorganisation Act, 2014. Bhatti said that he and Revanth Reddy requested Modi to expedite the implementation of pending promises in the AP Reorganisation Act.
“People fought for statehood to Telangana to secure Telangana's due share in funds, water and jobs, which were neglected in combined Andhra Pradesh. But the previous BRS government, which ruled the state for nearly 10 years, has miserably failed on this front,” Bhatti alleged.
Bhatti said that they brought to the notice of the Prime Minister how the previous government pushed Telangana into the debt trap by taking huge loans from banks and other financial institutions, besides securing huge loans in the name of various corporations.
“We appealed to PM to come to the rescue of Telangana by releasing the pending central grants at the earliest. The PM responded positively to our requests and assured to resolve the issues at the earliest,” Bhatti said.
This is the first time that a Telangana Chief Minister participated in a press conference in Delhi to brief the details about a meeting with the Prime Minister, as Chandrashekar Rao did not address the media in Delhi in the past nine years.
This is also the first time that a Cabinet minister, holding the finance portfolio, was allowed to address the media, instead of the Chief Minister.
What Revanth, Bhatti sought from PM
1. National project status to Palamur-Rangareddy project.
2. Pending financial assistance for backward districts from 2019-20 to 2023-24 at the rate of '450 crore per year, totalling '1,800 crore.
3. Pending 15th Finance Commission grants of '2,233.54 crore.
4. Upgrade pending 12 state highways into national highways.
5. Commencement of admissions to Mulugu Tribal University from 2023-24.
6. Establishment of a steel factory in Bayyaram of Khammam district and railway coach factory in Kazipet, as promised in AP Reorganisation Act, 2014.
7. Setting up of ITIR-Hyderabad project, as announced by the UPA government in 2010.
8. Release of central grants for Kakatiya Mega Textile Park in Warangal, under PM Mitra scheme.
9. Establishment of IIM in Hyderabad.
10. Establishment of Sainik School in Secunderabad Cantonment.
11. Shifting headquarters of Indian Army's Southern Command from Pune Cantonment to Secunderabad Cantonment, in a first for a southern state.
12. Bifurcation of common institutions between TS and AP listed under AP Reorganisation Act, 2014 and extend cooperation to bifurcate AP Bhavan in Delhi.
