(Prashanth Reddy)
Hyderabad: BJP demanded chief minister to call for an all-party meeting to discuss the worsening state of finances in Telangana
Addressing media Wednesday at BJP office here, Rakesh Reddy, spokesperson of the party, said mismanagement of state economy had resulted in the present crisis.
“State is not able to honor the bills in Mission Bhagiratha where dues to the tune of Rs 10,000 crore have been pending. Another amount of Rs 10,000 crore pending bills has accrued in the Irrigation department. The state has not been able to pay wages for ‘104 Services’ employees. Even pensions of retired employees have not been paid for months. The state is not in a position not even to release matching grants for central schemes. Is it not a matter of serious concern,” Reddy asked.
Alleging that frauds, schemes for scams, misappropriation, extravaganza, rampant corruption, and wasteful spending publicity led to the present crisis, Rakesh Reddy said the chief minister himself owes an explanation to the people of the state.
” If you cannot run the state, take BJP into confidence. We will advise you on how to bring back the economy on rails. Or convene an all-party meeting to discuss the issues of serious concern before it is too late,” he said.
Referring to the media reports on the financial crisis in the state, the BJP leader felt that the justification offered by Ramakrishna Rao, principal secretary, finance, was not satisfactory. He said Ramakrishna Rao had hidden more than what he revealed.
Stating that the finance secretary’s explanation on the state finances lacked sincerity, Rakesh has asked as to why the state is passing through payment crisis despite the receipt of loans from all sources.
Rakesh took strong objection to Congress trying to obstruct the priest of a Hindu temple in Warangal performing Puja for the return of Narendra Modi as the Prime Minister for the second time.
The Congress, he said, had lodged a complaint with the executive officer of the temple on the pretext that the priest was not supposed to perform pujas for a political leader as the temple is governed by the endowment department.
Defending Warangal priest’s right to perform Pujas for Narendra Modi, Rakesh said every Hindu has a right to perform pujas for the fulfillment of his wish irrespective of the administration of the temple.