Hyderabad: Former minister and BRS deputy floor leader T. Harish Rao rejected Minister Jupally Krishna Rao’s allegations on Telangana borrowings and sent videos and documents through WhatsApp to support his rebuttal.
In an open letter on Friday, Harish Rao accused the Congress government of repeatedly spreading misinformation about the loans raised during the previous BRS regime. He said the Chief Minister and several Ministers had continued making misleading claims despite repeated clarifications.
Harish Rao said he had already explained the figures during the Assembly session. He stated that the total borrowings during the BRS government’s nine-and-a-half-year tenure, including government-guaranteed loans repayable by the State, stood at ₹4.17 lakh crore.
He said he still stood by those figures. Moreover, he recalled that he had publicly challenged the Congress government to hold an open debate on the debt issue in the Assembly.
Harish Rao debt claims cite RBI figures
Referring to Jupally Krishna Rao’s latest letter, Harish Rao said the Minister had claimed that the Congress government borrowed ₹1,77,058 crore between December 2023 and June 2026.
However, Harish Rao said RBI data showed a higher figure. He stated that the Congress government’s borrowings had reached ₹1,86,067 crore as of June 30.
He also cited Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy’s statement in the Telangana Legislative Assembly on March 18, 2026. According to Harish Rao, the Chief Minister had said the Congress government’s FRBM borrowings and other liabilities together stood at ₹3,47,294 crore.
Harish Rao said the BRS had maintained the same figures on State borrowings. In contrast, he alleged, the Congress leadership had frequently changed debt figures to suit its political narrative.
Harish Rao debt claims backed by WhatsApp material
Harish Rao further claimed that, according to BRS calculations, the Congress government had already raised nearly ₹4.5 lakh crore through different borrowing mechanisms after assuming office.
He told Jupally Krishna Rao that he had sent three sets of supporting material through WhatsApp. These included the video of his Assembly speech explaining BRS borrowings, the video of Revanth Reddy’s Assembly statement on Congress borrowings and RBI’s official State debt data.
Harish Rao urged the Minister to examine the evidence carefully. He also asked him to stop making what he described as misleading statements on Telangana’s financial position.