YS Jagan questions insufficient allotments

Coming down heavily on the TDP leadership and its ministers for bulldozing the opposition voice in the assembly and denying considerable time for it to speak on the budget in detail, YSR Congress President Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy has said the Government has ensured the curtailing of the debate on budget to a meagre four days instead of the normal six days as per rule.

Addressing media persons at the Assembly Committee Hall after leading a walk out of the YSRCP MLAs from the House for not being given enough time to express his views on the budget, he said the Chair had denied him the right to speak fully on the budget. 

The YSRCP chief challenged Chandrababu to declare that he would not raise power, RTC, water rates as also municipal taxes and ensure saturation concept in implementing welfare schemes. "YSR had not increased power, RTC, water rates and municipal taxes. He also did not sell a single government-owned undertaking," YS Jagan said  and sought to know if Chandrababu was willing do likewise.

Jagan Mohan Reddy said the TDP ministers and MLAs used the assembly time only to throw mud on YSR and his regime while he tried to expose the insufficient allotments in the budget.

“In the past, opposition leaders were allowed to speak for two-and-a-half hours but I was given a limited time of one-and-half-hours. This is very injustice on their part. The TDP members, instead of answering his queries on budget, simply diverted the topic and spent time blaming the YSR and his Government,” Jagan Mohan Reddy said.

Speaking about the insufficient allotments in the budget, he said an amount of Rs.5000 Cr was allotted under the loan waiver head while the actual requirement for the waiver of farm and DWAKRA loans is about Rs.64,000 Cr. “Insufficient amount of Rs.599 Cr was allotted for the provision of interest free loans whereas the actual requirement is Rs.2,560 Cr. A hefty amount of Rs. 650 Cr is necessary for payment of social pensions for five months but a meagre amount of Rs. 130 Cr was allotted,” he said , adding that Government has allotted very low amounts for several key necessities such as free power, fee reimbursement, NTR Sujala Sravanthi scheme and housing.

There is no allotment at all for agricultural stabilization fund and payment of allowance to the unemployed youth, he remarked.