Vinod Kumar Slams Nirmala Sitharaman Over Telangana Debt Remarks

Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) senior leader B. Vinod Kumar has strongly countered Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s remarks on Telangana’s financial condition. Sitharaman, during a session in the Rajya Sabha, stated that Telangana was a surplus state at the time of bifurcation but has since accumulated significant debt over the past decade.

Responding to her comments, Vinod Kumar criticized the Union Minister, calling her statements irresponsible. He asserted that the Andhra Pradesh Reorganization Act was enacted solely for the formation of Telangana and that neither Sitharaman nor the current Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government had any role in its passage. He emphasized that the people of Telangana, along with the BRS party (formerly TRS), had fought to achieve statehood.

Vinod Kumar accused Sitharaman of undermining the governance of former Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao (KCR), stating that she belittled his decade-long administration. He pointed out that Telangana had a surplus budget in both 1956, when it was merged with Andhra Pradesh, and in 2014, when it was granted statehood. Dismissing allegations of financial mismanagement, he claimed that KCR utilized borrowed funds effectively without wastage and created significant assets for the state.

Highlighting the achievements of the previous BRS government, Vinod Kumar mentioned infrastructure projects such as district collectorate buildings, the Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Project, and the Command and Control Center, where current Chief Minister Revanth Reddy now operates. He also noted the establishment of medical colleges in every district and criticized BJP leaders for boasting about the Medak railway station, which he said was completed only after several years of delay.

He questioned why Sitharaman spoke only about Telangana’s debts but ignored the fact that the state’s own revenue had increased fivefold. He suggested that if the Union Minister spent two days in Telangana, she would witness the development that has taken place. Expressing anger over her statements, Vinod Kumar accused Revanth Reddy of tarnishing Telangana’s image and alleged that Sitharaman did the same in her remarks. He further claimed that anti-Telangana forces were influencing the Union Minister and demanded that she withdraw her statements.