Congress, BJP Clash Over Telangana Funds

Hyderabad: The ruling Congress and the BJP on Wednesday locked horns over the Centre’s alleged failure to support Telangana with its rightful share of funds.

BJP floor leader A. Maheshwar Reddy, during the discussion on the Motion of Thanks to the Governor’s address in the Assembly, blamed the alleged deaths of 700 farmers during the Congress tenure on the government’s agrarian policies. He highlighted “negative growth,” noted that the state was facing a revenue deficit of Rs 10,000 crore, and claimed that the Centre had supported Telangana to the tune of Rs 13 lakh crore through funding. BC welfare minister Ponnam Prabhakar strongly countered, challenging Reddy and the BJP to bring more funds from the Union government, accusing them of neglecting Telangana’s interests.

Animal husbandry minister Vakiti Srihari also intervened, citing that neighbouring Andhra Pradesh was receiving proper support from the Centre while Telangana was ignored.

Amid the uproar, legislative affairs minister D. Sridhar Babu intervened when the BJP floor leader questioned why the Congress had failed to give 42 per cent of portfolios to BCs as per its policy, and why Ponnam was not given a major portfolio. The minister demanded that Maheshwar Reddy apologise for belittling the BC minister and his portfolio, and urged the Speaker to expunge his remarks.