Centre's clarification on AP loans acts as weapon' for YSRC to disprove TD charge
Vijayawada: The ruling YSRC has started counter-attacks on the Opposition parties, including Telugu Desam, by firmly refuting allegations of “indiscriminate” borrowings by the state government over the last four years of its rule.
Coming to the YSRC’s aid is a statement from Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman. She stated in Parliament that the previous TD government had taken loans of Rs 2,64,451 crore between 2014 and 2019, while the outstanding loans went up to Rs 4,42,442 crore between 2019 and 2023.
State finance minister Buggana Rajendranath used to reject the allegations from the TD and other Opposition parties in relation to the alleged over-borrowings in “violation of norms” to get loans for AP, thereby “pushing the state into a debt trap.” But, the TD continued to claim that the loan intakes have increased abnormally under the YSRC rule to fund welfare schemes like Amma Vodi.
The clarification by Nirmala Sitharaman in the Lok Sabha that the present AP government’s borrowings were less than what the previous TD government took, came as a big relief to the YSRC. It can thus exonerate itself and blunt the edge of the Opposition attacks on it in this respect.
It was in response to a query raised by BRS member Nama Nageshwara Rao in the Lok Sabha that the Union finance minister made the statement.
She said the previous TD government had taken loans of Rs 2,64,451 crore between 2014 and 2019, while the outstanding loans went up to Rs 4,42,442 crore between 2019 and 2023. This meant the YSRC government took only Rs 1.77 lakh crore in loans in the last four years.
Sitharaman said, "The outstanding debts of Andhra Pradesh by March 2019 were Rs 2,64,451 crore. It went up to Rs 3,07,672 crore in 2019-20, Rs 3,53,021 crore in 2020-21; Rs 3,93,718 crore in 2021-22 and Rs 4,42,442 crore in 2022-23."
She also gave a clarity on the loans taken in the name of corporations by the Jagan Mohan Reddy-led government. "The AP government has taken Rs 1,931 crore through the AP water development corporation, Rs 1,158 crore through the AP road development corporation; Rs 450 crore through the fisheries fund; Rs 11.40 crore from the warehousing fund; Rs 616 crore under the micro irrigation fund; Rs 6,212 crore through the rural infrastructure development fund and Rs 24,311 crore from credit extension federation."
Ministers Ambati Rambabu and Jogi Ramesh said that the opposition parties tried to tarnish the image of the Jagan Mohan Reddy government by propagating that it borrowed more than Rs 4 lakh crore in the last four years. “This was a big lie.”
“The government will give loans as per the norms and rules. The Jagan Mohan Reddy government took those loans legally. This government’s financial management is very good as it implemented various welfare schemes uninterruptedly even during the Corona crisis. Unable to digest this good name, the TD and other Opposition parties indulged in false propaganda. Now, with the Centre’s clarifications, they should know the truth,” the ministers said.
