YSRCP leader and Leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Council Botcha Satyanarayana on Saturday (February 14) termed the Andhra Pradesh Budget presented by Minister for Finance Payyavula Keshav as an exercise in “self-praise and criticism of others,” alleging that the NDA government had failed to address key concerns of farmers and women.
In a brief interaction with The Hindu immediately after the conclusion of the Budget presentation, Mr. Satyanarayana said the government had not made specific allocations for the “Super Six” — the key political promises made in the NDA manifesto during the elections.
Responding to a query that a Budget need not explicitly mention manifesto promises if it intends to deliver them through departmental allocations, Mr. Satyanarayana argued that while election promises may not be named directly, the allocations to the concerned departments would reflect the government’s intent and credibility. “The figures themselves should indicate seriousness,” he said.
The YSRCP leader further alleged that there was “no sanctity” to the Budget as it deferred presenting detailed accounts related to the State’s debts when compared with the previous Budget. He pointed out that in its first full Budget last year, the NDA government had stated that it inherited a debt of ₹4.2 lakh crore from the previous YSRCP regime. However, in his speech this year, the Finance Minister claimed that the debt stood at about ₹9.7 lakh crore. “This anomaly exposes the credibility of the Budget presented under Chief Minister Nara Chandrababu Naidu,” he alleged.
