The opposition YSR Congress party in Andhra Pradesh on Saturday termed the annual state budget for 2026-27 presented by finance minister P Keshav in the assembly as a bundle of lies which tries to hide more than what it reveals and lacks in sum and substance.
Speaking to media at Tadepalli, former finance minister Buggana Rajendranath Reddy said the tall claims and fudging of figures is blatant as the format of budget book has been changed to extent of covering up its lies and not revealing the comparative financial discipline by providing the mandatory 10-year data.
“While it speaks high on growth rate and compares it with the Centre, the corresponding rise in revenue is very low which shows that the figures are cooked up and does not stand the security on real time,” he said.
One shining example is that of Jal Jivan Mission, the Central scheme. While the Centre has spent Rs 8,500 crore nationwide, the coalition government claims that it has spent Rs 10,000 crore and has taken share of the Centre, Buggana pointed out.
The revenue figure of previous year and the revised estimates leave a yawning gap and how the government will fill it in the last quarter is anybody’s guess, he said, adding the loans, the schemes and allocations all are hidden in some guise or the other.
Senior YSRCP MLC and former minister Botsa Satyanarayana termed the state annual budget as “an illusion of numbers” filled with self-praise and blame on the previous government.
He said the Rs 3.32 lakh crore budget was unrealistic and politically driven.
“The budget speech focused on glorifying leaders, mentioning the chief minister’s name around 100 times, Lokesh 75–80 times and Pawan Kalyan about 20 times, instead of addressing people’s concerns,” he said.
He pointed out discrepancies in debt figures, with the budget claiming state debt at Rs. 9.46 lakh crore while YSRCP maintains its tenure borrowings were only Rs 3.21 lakh crore.
In just 20 months the government borrowed over Rs 3 lakh crore without creating wealth, while revenues declined and development slowed, he alleged.