Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) national general secretary D. Purandeswari has said Andhra Pradesh is moving towards financial emergency.
“Instead of coming up with revenue generation plans, the YSRCP government is mortgaging assets to mobilise loans,” Ms. Purandeswari said while addressing the media here on Sunday.
Ms. Purandeswari, who was in the city to take part in the ‘Mann Ki Baat’ programme, alleged that the State government was trying to mobilise loans by projecting the revenue accrued from the sale of liquor.
‘Assets being mortgaged’
“The State government has constituted a separate corporation not for the welfare of people or usher in development, but for bringing loans. A number of assets in Visakhapatnam too are being mortgaged,” the BJP leader said.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had written a letter to the Principal Secretary concerned, seeking an explanation on the source of loans and how they were going to be cleared.
In the last three years, the State government had piled up a debt of ₹3 lakh crore, Ms. Purandeswari said.. The CAG report too showed that the revenue deficit breached the barrier.
Ridiculing the State government’s claims attributing the financial stress to the COVID-19 situation, she said the Union government had provided all financial help to the State during the pandemic. “There are still many COVID-19 warriors who have not been paid their salaries,” she said.
“The financial position of the State is so worse that the employees have not been receiving their salaries in time. Pensioners too are no exception,” Ms. Purandeswari observed.
She further ridiculed the government for renaming the Central schemes and showcasing them as its own and for neglecting the condition of roads.