Rama Krishna Sangem
Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao (KCR) attacked BJP led Central government for both weakening states and encouraging divisive forces in the country. Addressing a gathering after hoisting tricolor flag at the historic Golkonda Fort on the occasion of 76th Independence Day on August 15, Monday, KCR said: “The Centre unfortunately is trying to weaken the states”.
Reminding that the very first para of our Constitution says that India that Bharat is a Union of States, KCR said that the present Central government is acting against to the spirit of federalism. “Very sad that those who are now occupying the high Constitutional posts are trying to defeat the spirit of the Constitution. They are encouraging fascist tendencies in our country, known for communal harmony and peaceful coexistence,” said KCR.
The CM lamented that the souls of our great freedom fighters would rile by seeing the present conditions in the country. He called upon intellectuals, youth and students to be vigilant to the conspiracies of such forces and make every effort to save our country. On his part, KCR pledged to do his best to protect the Ganga-Jamuna Tehzeeb (of communal harmony) referred by Mahatma Gandhi.
After explaining the achievements of his government since formation of Telangana state in 2014, the CM said:”In the last eight years, we have achieved a lot and every section of our people are taken care of. We have borrowed funds from the market and institutions for the sake of our public. But, some people are distorting facts and trying to paint me in the wrong way”.
Even according to the figures provided by the Centre in 2019-20, Telangana’s total debt was around Rs 2.25 lakh crore, of which Rs 75,000 crore was carried forward from 2014. So, the new borrowings are only Rs 1.49 lakh crore. This entire amount is spent on capital expenditure. We spent this money on infrastructure and basic facilities to the public. Not a wasteful expenditure,” said the CM.
KCR justified this saying that the debt toGDP ratio in the country is 50.4 per cent while the same of Telangana is just 23.5 per cent. We are at 22nd position in the list of states that borrowed heavily in the country. The CM criticized the Cenrte for reducing the funds to the states, from 41 per cent, due to 29.4 per cent. By curtailing our freedom to raise borrowings, the Centre wants to destabilize us,” he said.
Earlier, KCR was received by Chief Secretary Somesh Kumar and other senior officials at the 16th century Golkonda Fort. The entire premises was decked up with tricolors. Police units offered the CM a gun salute and cultural teams presented their performances on the occasion. Ministers and others in the government hoisted national flags at 33 district headquarters in the morning.
