Thu Dec 19 16:34:47 UTC 2024: ## BRS Leader Rebuts Congress’s Financial Mismanagement Claims in Telangana Assembly

**Hyderabad, December 19, 2024** – Telangana’s former Finance Minister and BRS MLA, T. Harish Rao, vehemently refuted the Congress government’s accusations of financial mismanagement during the BRS’s tenure. Speaking in the Assembly on Thursday, Mr. Rao accused the Congress of manipulating financial data to discredit the previous administration.

He countered the Congress’s claim of a ₹6.71 lakh crore debt under BRS rule, asserting that the actual debt incurred was ₹4.17 lakh crore, with ₹4.08 lakh crore invested in welfare schemes like Rythu Bandhu (farmer investment support) and irrigation projects. He also highlighted that Telangana was handed over to the Congress as a surplus state with ₹1,700 crore. He alleged that Congress falsely attributed ₹87,000 crore of inherited debt from Andhra Pradesh and claimed additional borrowings of ₹99,385 crore under BRS rule.

Mr. Rao further emphasized Telangana’s economic progress under BRS rule, citing a significant budget increase from ₹68,000 crore in 2014 to ₹2.93 lakh crore in 2023, and a rise in per capita income from ₹1.24 lakh to ₹3.56 lakh. He also pointed to an increase in revenue surplus from ₹369 crore in 2014 to ₹5,994 crore in 2022-23.

Mr. Rao challenged the Congress to an open debate in the Assembly to address the allegations transparently, expressing confidence that the people of Telangana recognize the BRS government’s contributions to the state’s development and will not be swayed by what he called Congress’s false propaganda.

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