Budget session curtailed to avoid Oppn pinpointing flaws, says Congress

HYDERABAD: Congress legislature party leader Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka said that restricting the budget session to seven days did not help in having a fruitful discussion on the state’s financial position.

“By suppressing the voices of the Opposition parties, the TRS government scuttled a chance for them to present the people’s problems. The government wanted to avoid a detailed discussion on budget and hence curtailed the session,” he said.

Bhatti along with Congress MLAs Jayaprakash ‘Jagga’ Reddy, Sridhar Babu and Seethakka addressed the media.

The CLP leader criticised that TRS government, saying it was not observing financial discipline and Telangana’s debts will swell to `5 lakh crore by 2024-25. As of now, the state is reeling under a debt of 4.70 lakh crore, he said.

Bhatti said the ruling TRS MLAs disrupted the speeches of Congress MLAs. “They tried to divert the attention of the members and sought to drown the Opposition voice when it tried to point out the lapses of the government,” he said.

“We had already suggested at the business advisory committee that the government continue the assembly session for more days,” he said.

The CLP leader said the abrupt adjournment of the session posed a threat to the system of democracy. He demanded zero interest loans, input subsidy, seeds and fertilizers for farmers apart from the Rythu Bandhu benefits. The double bedroom house scheme should be continued, he said.

The TRS government failed to respond to the unemployment allowance issue, he said.

Bhatti Vikramarka said chief minister Chandrashekar Rao agreed to restore the services of field assistants in MGNREGS due to the agitation of the Congress party for the last two years. The Congress party also forced the government to provide better pay scales for IKP, Mepma staff, he said. “The VRAs issue was also discussed in the assembly,” he said.