The TRS Government would present its full-fledged budget, first since the formation of the new Telangana State, in the State Assembly commencing its session from Wednesday and expected to be not only tax-free but also would lay more emphasis on welfare and development programmes.
Finance Minister Etela Rajender would present the annual budget on the very first day of the budget session slated to last till November 24. From all accounts and as things stand today, the budget session will undoubtedly by a stormy affair what with the Opposition parties, especially the Congress and TDP, sharpening their knives to launch a holds barred attack on the ruling TRS on various issues plaguing the state.
The Finance Minister called on Chief Minister K. Chnadrashekar Rao this morning and both were understood to have discussed various aspects of the budget besides giving it the needed final touches. Though the Finance Minister customarily had prepared the state’s budget, there is an open talk in political corridors that the budget definitely would have the “KCR Mark”.
Keeping in view the power shortage in Telangana, which in fact had triggered off a war of words between TS and AP Governments each accusing the other of harming the interests of one another, an allocation of a whopping Rs.35,000/ crores is understood to have been made in the budget for power sector.
The ruling TRS party and Chief Minister Chandrashekar Rao especially have been put on the firing line of late by the Congress and Telugu Desam parties holding them responsible for the present plight of the people in the state. The reported suicides by the farmers affected by shortage of required power supply, imposing of power holidays for industries besides domestic power cuts, , non implementation of funds allocated under the SC, ST Sub Plan, fee reimbursement to the students etc have come in handy for the opposition parties to train their guns against the TRS Government.
As a matter of fact the recent exodus of members from the Congress and the TDP has definitely rattled these parties. What is more it was like adding salt to injury to these parties when their strength steadily declined due to their legislators falling prey to KCR’s well-orchestrated “ Aakarshan” plan. Thus the opposition parties are getting ready to unleash bombardment against KCR and his government accusing them of miserably failing to resolve the problems being faced by the state and the people. They are bound to target the Chief Minister for concentrating in encouraging defections instead of striving to secure the needed assistance from the central government.
The TRS members on the other hand, buoyed by defections in Congress and TDP, would no lag behind in launching its own missiles to counter the opposition attack. As a matter of fact the Congress and the TDP would be squarely blamed for the present vows of the state with regard to power and water requirements due to their past deeds when in power in the undivided Andhra Pradesh. It should not come as a surprise if KCR makes full use of the recently defected members into his party from Congress and TDP to take on their erstwhile colleagues and tries to lay bare the misdeeds of the earlier regimes. And there is no doubt that these Congress and TDP defectors would be over enthusiastic to please their “new boss” with an eye on plum posts and go full throttle to “expose” their former bosses.
Thus with both the ruling TRS and the opposition parties getting ready to put to full use their lung power in the battle of one-upmanship and try to corner each other in the august house, the budget session of the State Assembly would reverberate with fireworks from day one.(NSS)