I will quit if BJP proves me wrong on TS tax contributions to Centre: KTR

HYDERABAD: Telangana has contributed more taxes to the Centre than it has received in return, and the taxes collected from Telangana have been used to develop BJP-ruled states, claimed BRS working president K.T. Rama Rao, who accused Union minister G. Kishan Reddy of making false claims about the sanction of funds and development projects to the state.

"In the last eight years, the Centre has collected Rs 3.65 lakh crore from Telangana through taxes, while the state has received Rs 1.68 lakh crore," he said at a public meeting in Huzurnagar after launching development programmes in Suryapet district.

Claiming that the BJP did not take up his challenge to prove his statement wrong, Rama Rao declared that “if they prove my statements are wrong, I am prepared to quit as minister. But will Kishan Reddy tender an apology to the people for his false claims.”

Rama Rao highlighted that the per capita income in Telangana in 2014 was Rs 1.24 lakh, which has risen to Rs 2.78 lakh in the last eight years when compared to the national average of Rs 1.49 lakh, demonstrating that Telangana's GSDP was better than the country's GDP.

In response to BJP leaders' claims that the BRS government had forced Telangana into a "debt trap”, Rama Rao stated that the loans were used for infrastructure projects and to create assets for future generations. "In the last eight years, the Centre borrowed Rs 100 lakh crore. Can the BJP leaders list out at least one good work undertaken by the Centre with those loans,” he asked.

Rama Rao claimed that the state government had struck a balance between development and welfare programmes. "The country is in debt under Narendra Modi's rule. On the other hand, Telangana has emerged as a role model in the implementation of welfare packages and development programmes under Chandrashekhar Rao's leadership. The BJP government and numerous state governments have copied the Telangana government's policies,” he remarked.