Andhra Pradesh Budget a bundle of lies: Jagan Mohan Reddy

Amaravati, March 5 (IANS) YSR Congress President and former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy on Wednesday termed the state budget 2025-26 as a bundle of lies with no proper allocations. 

Alleging that Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu deceived all sections of people, Jagan Mohan Reddy announced that on March 12, the party would organise protests at all district Collectors' offices on behalf of students and their parents for the raw deal meted out to them.

Addressing a press conference, he asserted that to implement all the Super Six schemes promised by Chandrababu Naidu during electioneering, the government needs to allocate Rs 79,867 crore but there was no trace of such a figure in the budget or in the budget speech.

He said Chandrababu Naidu had been resorting to the rhetoric of over Rs 10 lakh crore loan taken by the previous government though the budget documents presented by his government shows the much lesser figure and, in this budget, the public debt was tucked away deep under.

"The lies being spread by the TDP are only to cover up its inability to fulfil the election promises and people are now repenting for once again believing the lies of TDP and are of the opinion that Jagan used to deliver and keep up promises,” said the YSRCP leader.

Citing data and quoting from various documents, Jagan Mohan Reddy sought to highlight anomalies in the budget, saying they do not match with the poll promises leaving farmers, women, students, youth and other sections in the lurch.

While the coalition promised Rs 3,000 monthly stipend to unemployed youth, there was no mention of it in this budget like the previous budget, he said, adding that for two years, the Naidu government owes Rs 72,000 to each youth of the state.

“In the Governor’s speech, it was claimed that Rs 6.5 lakh crore investment has already come and four lakh jobs were already given. During our term, we have given 6.31 lakh jobs in all. Instead of creating jobs, the coalition government is driving away industrialists and retrenching employees,” he said.

Jagan Mohan Reddy also said under the Ada Bidda Nidhi scheme, Naidu promised Rs 18,000 annually to women in the age group of 18 to 59 but there is no mention of it in the budget. As per the voters’ list, 1.80 crore women have to get the benefit.

He pointed out that there was no allocation for free bus travel for women while the Talliki Vandanam, which is a replica of his YSRCP government’s Amma Vodi, got meagre funds.

“In the previous budget, funds were allocated but were not released. Now for the 87.41 lakh students, Rs 13,112 crore is required and such a figure does not exist. Every student should be getting Rs 30,000 for the two years. So is the case with farmers, who were promised Rs 20,000 over and above the PM Kisan scheme and farmers were cheated in the two budgets presented by the government. The Deepam scheme is also blinking with meagre funds. The same pattern continues for the pension scheme as well,” he said.

The YSRCP leader said Naidu stands exposed with his blatant lies after saying, during electioneering, that he would continue all the welfare schemes of Jagan Mohan Reddy and in addition, would give the Super Six. "In reality, the fees reimbursement is gone, Aarogyasri and other health initiatives were diluted or deleted, the education sector has been vandalised and all the reforms brought in were erased along with RBKs which were the rural backbone," he added.