Former finance minister Buggana Rajendranath attacked Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu on the divergent versions that he has been dishing out about the debt of Andhra Pradesh. Buggana said that Naidu first came out with a figure of the state’s debt at ₹14 lakh crore and then suddenly revised it to ₹9.56 lakh crore. He questioned this sudden change and challenged Naidu to go ahead with his threats to probe corporate loans, asserting that such investigations would expose the facts.
Refuting allegations that the YSRCP government borrowed at higher interest rates, Buggana accused the TDP government of taking loans at inflated rates during its tenure. He further questioned whether former Finance Minister Yanamala Ramakrishnudu and current Finance Minister Pyyavula Kesav were even aware of the financial intricacies. Highlighting the transparency of the Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) schemes under the YSRCP government, Buggana dismissed opposition claims of scams as baseless and politically motivated.
On the issue of electricity true-up charges, Buggana revealed that the TDP government had imposed over ₹20,000 crore in such charges during its five years in power. In contrast, the YSRCP government had levied only ₹2,300 crore in true-up charges over a similar period. Taking a swipe at the NDA government, he criticized the imposition of ₹6,770 crore in true-up charges within just five months.
Buggana reacted sharply against the opposition by stating it misleads the public with wrong facts and baseless allegations. He asserted that the YSRCP government stands for transparency and welfare of the public as against some propaganda regarding the opposition.