Hyderabad: Finance minister and deputy chief minister of Telangana Bhatti Vikramarka on Tuesday slammed the BJP for failing to secure sufficient funds for the state. He highlighted that while Bihar receives 6 from the Centre for every 1 it contributes in taxes, Telangana only receives 0.30.During a detailed response in the budget discussion, he noted that some states receive higher shares of devolution that are not proportional to their contributions. For instance, Uttar Pradesh gets about 2.03, Madhya Pradesh around 1.73, Rajasthan close to 1.14, and Bihar an impressive 6.06 for every rupee they contribute. In contrast, Andhra Pradesh receives 0.60, and Karnataka only 0.19. He said it is unfair that Telangana does not receive a proportionate amount based on its contributions.Addressing objections from BJP members regarding the Telangana govt’s ambition of becoming a three trillion-dollar economy, he questioned, “Are you disagreeing with your own govt’s (NDA) plans to reach a $30 trillion economy by 2047? When all states contribute, only then can the Centre achieve that milestone. Moreover, Telangana has a better growth rate than the Centre, so why shouldn’t we aim high?”He also labelled the BJP’s remarks about a “cheating budget” as unfortunate. He defended the govt’s initiatives by stating, “Is it wrong that we are providing life insurance to all families in the state? We are introducing breakfast schemes for students and offering one lakh crore interest-free loans to women in self-help groups over five years. Is this what you call a cheating budget?”The state govt stated that it is unable to provide cylinders to women for 500 because the Centre has not cooperated. “We have asked the Petroleum and Gas Ministry to allow us to pre-deposit any costs exceeding Rs 500 for the cylinders, but they refused.” They argued that if we agree for Telangana, other states also will ask for the same, he said.Regarding the funds for the energy sector in Telangana, the finance minister stated, “Over the last decade, Telangana has been at a disadvantage because the Centre has conditioned the provision of subsidies on the requirement that power rates be set equal to the purchasing cost. I appeal to the BJP leaders to join us in approaching the Centre for relief, as we have been providing subsidised power to farmers for a long time.“He termed the BRS walkout as unfortunate, stating it was an attempt to escape the reality of their exposed poor debt management. Bhatti said the consequences of projects such as the Kaleshwaram Project are evident. According to him, debt servicing was at ₹7 crore in the 2014–15 fiscal year, rising to ₹66,545 crore by the 2024–25 fiscal year, and has led to past mismanagement. Since Congress came to power, borrowing and repayments were presented as follows: in 2023–24, ₹15,357 crore was borrowed and ₹25,000 crore repaid; in 2024–25, ₹56,968 crore was borrowed and ₹66,545 crore repaid; and in 2025–26, ₹86,840 crore was borrowed and ₹93,194 crore repaid. He stated that in two years a total of ₹1,59,165 crore was borrowed while ₹1,85,090 crore was repaid, with the repayments described as clearing debts accumulated by the previous govt.
