CM Revanth To Staff: Do Not Go On Strikes

Hyderabad:Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy on Monday warned that Telangana is on the brink of bankruptcy after accumulating massive debts under the previous BRS administration. Addressing a gathering in Hyderabad, he appealed to state government employees to refrain from strikes, cautioning that further work stoppages could topple the administration.

Revanth Reddy highlighted a monthly revenue shortfall of ₹4,000 crore, noting that the state generates only ₹18,500 crore against obligations of ₹22,500 crore. He said this gap cannot be bridged without severe measures. “Even if you cut me into pieces, I can’t raise more than Rs 18,500 crore per month," he said and added that any protests would risk welfare schemes and essential services. “Cut welfare, or hike petrol to ₹200 a litre? Protests now could collapse government machinery,” he said.

The Chief Minister said Telangana’s creditworthiness has deteriorated so badly that bankers treat state loan requests with suspicion. He cited difficulties in allocating even ₹1,000 crore for development works and said repairing existing roads — and certainly building new ones — has become a challenge.

Revanth Reddy attributed the crisis to the previous decade of BRS rule. He reported that Telangana took ₹1.58 lakh crore in loans under that government and has repaid ₹1.54 lakh crore to date, amid efforts to restore fiscal stability.

As a demonstration of fiscal discipline, the CM said he now travels economy class despite having access to a private plane and noted that, for the first time in 10 years, state employees are receiving salaries on the first of each month.

He urged employees’ unions to meet directly with the finance minister or Chief Secretary to review the state’s accounts and propose how to allocate the ₹18,500 crore monthly revenue. He asked them to consider which programmes — old-age pensions, free power, or schemes like Kalyana Lakshmi — could be paused to manage the deficit.

Revanth Reddy stressed that cooperative engagement, rather than strikes, is the only way to protect welfare programmes, maintain law and order, and safeguard Telangana’s economy and governance.