BJP takes dig at Telangana budget, flags welfare cuts

Hyderabad: Telangana BJP floor leader A Maheshwar Reddy took a dig at the state budget on Tuesday, stating that the budget estimates should instead be referred to as ‘Bhatti estimates' and ‘Revanth receipts' rather than revenue receipts.During the budget discussion, he claimed that it was merely a ‘paper budget', asserting that the govt never spends up to 80% of the allocated funds. "How are we supposed to understand a budget that doesn't even utilise the entire amount?" he asked. Maheshwar Reddy went on to highlight that Telangana is the only state in the country noted for its consistent underspending, a fact he said is supported by reports from the CAG. He also slammed the govt for failing to allocate funds for the six guarantees. "While the budget for welfare programmes for SC, ST, and BC communities has seen cuts, minority welfare has received an increase of over Rs 3,000 crore," he noted.He further pointed out that the Rythu Declaration had not been implemented and that the budget for agriculture had also been slashed. "How are loans supposed to be offered to women when their allocated funds have decreased?" he questioned. At this point, women and child welfare minister Seethakka intervened, arguing that the reduction in funds for rural employment schemes was due to the cuts by the Centre. "The Centre has only imposed draconian laws against farmers in the country," she stated.