Turned Telangana Into "Debt-Ridden" State: Union Minister Attacks KCR

Telangana, which was a revenue surplus state when it was formed in 2014 became a revenue deficit state and the "credit" goes to Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman alleged on Tuesday.

Addressing a gathering "Meet and Greet" organised for Malkajgiri BJP candidate N Ramchander Rao, she said the next two to three generations of Telangana will end up repaying the debts.

The Finance Minister said Telangana is one of the states which is opposing bringing liquor, petrol and diesel into the GST purview and opined that if they come under GST, the rates would be reasonable.

"The investments are coming anyway into the state. The state which was revenue surplus (in 2014) is now transformed into a revenue deficit state. The credit goes to KCR. Today Telangana is debt ridden. In the next two to three generations, our children will have to repay those debts," she said.

Hitting out at the Congress, she said, during the UPA regime, our defence personnel were deprived of not only bullet-proof jackets, but also other safety equipment and no procurements were made during those 10 years.

On the purchase of Rafale fighter jets, she said it was a government to government agreement and, as per the schedule, every aircraft had been delivered.

"So the decisions were taken in the national interest. There were no kickbacks or there were no companies with which we had any dealings done," Sitharaman said.

Seeking votes for the BJP candidate, Sitharaman said Ramchander Rao is the party's loyal leader and has a clean image.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)