Aim of massive debts is to loot state: Yanamala

Mangalagiri: Former finance minister and TDP politburo member Yanamala Ramakrishnudu alleged the state government was raising huge debts only to loot the state and the ruling party has already pushed Andhra Pradesh into severe financial crisis.

In a statement on Saturday, Ramakrishnudu said that the state government has not taken any corrective measures despite the Opposition parties sending warning signals for the past four years that the state is moving into classic debt trap.

Minister for finance Buggana Rajendranath Reddy without assessing the actual situation, has been uttering ‘blatant lies’, he said. Though organisations like the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) and CRISIL have been sending strong signals, the state government has been resorting to a misinformation campaign, Ramakrishnudu said. The chief economist of the Deutsche Bank Kaushik Das, in his report submitted in August this year has made it clear that the state’s financial condition has fallen from eighth place to 11th while the CRISIL too has brought down the price of Amaravati bonds on Friday with remarks that the state is now surviving on borrowings and overdrafts, he pointed out.

“This poor condition of the State is merely due to the lootings of Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy, and wastage of the funds,” the TDP leader alleged. The state government is not revealing even to the CAG the details of the debts raised from various corporations with government guarantee and also how much the state is utilising from the public accounts, he added.

Stating that due to the faulty policies of the Jagan Mohan Reddy’s government, each SC, ST, BC and minority family has a financial burden of Rs 2,79,136, Ramakrishnudu said. He also accused the CM and his people were trying to grab 14 lakh acre of assigned lands.