There is no iota of truth in the opposition parties’ claims that the State’s financial health is in a bad shape, Andhra Pradesh Finance Minister Buggana Rajendranath Reddy has asserted.
Addressing the media at the Secretariat here on November 2, Mr. Rajendranath Reddy said the government “cannot borrow beyond a limit as per the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management (FRBM) norms,” and lashed out at senior TDP leader and former Finance Minister Yanamala Ramakrishnudu for “misleading” the people on the debts raised by the government.
“The YSRCP government has actually borrowed much less than the previous TDP government,” Mr. Rajendranath Reddy said, and added that the State’s revenues had increased after Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy took over the reigns in 2019.
Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, the government had ushered in economic growth in the State, he claimed.
Referring to BJP State president D. Purandeswari’s demand for forensic audit of debts, he said there was no need for it. “The CAG has audited the finances and hence there is no need for a forensic audit,” he said.
On availing of Over Draft (OD) facility, he said the YSRCP government’s performance was better than the previous dispensation on this count too.
Similarly, while the capital expenditure during the TDP term was ₹15,000 crore per annum during 2014-19, it was ₹18,300 crore per annum during 2019-23, he said.
