AP budget will drive development, says finance minister Keshav

Vijayawada: While launching a scathing attack on opposition YSRCP, alleging it of destroying the state's fiscal health, finance minister Payyavula Keshva on Thursday said that the budget presented for 2026-27 will give a thrust to the state's developmental journey. In his reply to the debate on the budget in the state assembly, Keshav said that the budget reflected the aspirations of everyone and every family will benefit from it.Comparing with what happened during the previous govt's tenure in various sectors, Keshav urged people to draw the distinction between both the govts and decide who destroyed the state and who stood for the development and welfare of people. ‘Like the statutory warning on cigarette packs, members in the House should constantly remind the people of the state that electing YSRCP is injurious to the health of the state'.Citing the example of how Israel was rebuilt, Keshav said that people of Andhra Pradesh should draw inspiration to rebuild the state, which separated twice and remained without a capital. Stressing the need for continuation of govt for the development of the state, he urged people to remember that ‘YSRCP never again' and elect the coalition govt once again, as the NDA govt and chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu are synonyms for development.Accusing the previous YSRCP govt of financial indiscipline, Keshav said that it took 2 budgets for the state to come out of the mess they created. Not only a legacy of garbage, the YSRCP left legacy debts in every department. "They raised indiscriminate debts at higher interest rates, and the rescheduling of these loans alone to lower interest rates saved Rs 2000 crore per annum," he said.The finance minister further noted that the revenues from the mining department increased by 33% without any new mines, and the revenue from the excise department rose by 24% with the same shops. Everyone in the state knows what happened in mining and excise during the YSRCP regime, and the increase in revenues demonstrates that they looted public money from both the departments.Keshav hailed the vision of chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu in coming up with Amaravati and Tirupati economic regions on the lines of the Visakhapatnam economic region developed by Niti Ayog. He said that the move will ensure equitable development of all regions. Keshav also hailed the plans to turn Rayalaseema into a horticulture hub, as the fruits from the region are found to be in high demand in Europe.Keshav took potshots at YSRCP for its criticism of land allotments to companies. He said that several companies like Kia, Hero, HCL, and Ashok Leyland started operations on the lands allotted during the TDP regime, and companies like Google, TCS, Cognizant, ArcelorMittal, and many more are going to establish units soon. There was no company that came during the YSRCP regime, and all the land allotments made during Jagan Mohan Reddy's father's regime ended up as scams, he said.Keshav also criticised the YSRCP for alleging that the present govt stalled the Rayalaseema Lift Irrigation Project. He said the previous govt informed the National Green Tribunal (NGI) that the project was not under construction and that only a detailed project report was being prepared. "How can they accuse us of stalling a project that was never taken up for execution?" he asked.