Akbaruddin Owaisi points out mismatch of figures in white paper

Participating in the debate on the white paper on the State's finances in the Assembly, Akbaruddin Owaisi said whatever be the motive behind the issue of the white paper, the interests of the State should be paramount for all

Hyderabad: AIMIM MLA and floor leader Akbaruddin Owaisi on Wednesday appealed to the State government that it should not give out the message that Telangana was not a viable State.

Participating in the debate on the white paper on the State’s finances in the Assembly, he said whatever be the motive behind the issue of the white paper, the interests of the State should be paramount for all. The Treasury benches and the opposition may have political scores to settle, but Telangana should not be projected as a failed State. The message should be loud and clear that the State was without any deficiencies to support the investors.

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Leaders in the undivided State including former Chief Minister Kiran Kumar Reddy had prophesied that Telangana would plunge into darkness without power in the event of it being given Statehood. They should be proved wrong.

“I am saddened to find the State being projected through the debate as one that went bankrupt. In fact the State had made progress in all sectors. The debt burden of the Government of India shot up from Rs.44 lakh crore in 2013-14 to Rs.1.52 lakh crore in the past 10 years. The State had obviously performed better. Pointing out discrepancies and mismatch of figures mentioned in Pages 3, 4, 14 and other pages of the white paper, he asked whether he could ‘trust’ the white paper.

The figures mentioned in the paper need to be accurate, he stressed. Taking a strong exception to such errors in the white paper, he said figures from the RBI, CAG and Telangana budget were quoted conveniently.

“I am not here to protect any one, but to protect the interests of my own State. Let us not send a wrong message that the State was in distress,” he said.