The 1,45,000 crore Jumbo-sized budget for 2012-13, presented by Finance Minister of the ‘Minority’ Congress government in Andhra Pradesh on February 17, lacked concentration and failed to reflect the aspirations of the people, Senior TDP leader Ravula Chandrasekhar Reddy said today. Participating in the debate on the budget in the Assembly, he said the Congress government headed by Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy had claimed that it had a majority with 136 members in its kitty, but it was in ‘minority’ after 16 Congress rebels voted against the government. Criticising the state government for taking the help of erstwhile Praja Rajayam Party (PRP) legislators and the seven-member Majlis-e-Ittahedul-Muslimeen (MIM), during the no-trust motion on December 5, 2011, the TDP legislator said the Congress party had rediculed the democracy by presenting a rosy picture that the merger of Congress-PRP was not yet completed in the house but outside the house the government boasted that it had completed. Mr Rao said the state was facing with severe drought conditions with 878 mandals being affected and sarcastically said though the state government had claimed that it had written to the Centre, no relief was granted by it. He said the meagre amount of Rs 33 crore earmarked for drinking water in the Budget was not enough and remarked that his party felt that the Congress MPs and MLAs whenever they visit the National Capital would discuss the drought assistance with its high command but the elected representatives was more interested on the personal issues leaving the drought issue to winds.
—–Agencies