Kavitha slams Congress over ₹2 lakh crore debt, seeks white paper

Hyderabad: BRS MLC and Telangana Jagruthi president K Kavitha on Thursday called on the Congress government to release a white paper explaining the ₹2 lakh crore it has borrowed through bond auctions since it came to power 18 months ago.

At a press conference, Kavitha criticised Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy for accumulating the debt in what she called record time, while questioning the utilisation of the funds. She said no key election promise had been implemented, listing scooters for young women, enhanced pensions, and student fee reimbursements among the unfulfilled assurances.

Rejecting the government’s claim that the borrowings were being used to repay loans from the previous BRS regime, she called it an “utter lie”. Kavitha said the BRS administration had maintained a clean debt record and cited an ‘A’ grade given by the Rural Electrification Corporation (REC) during their tenure. She said the present government had already defaulted on dues of ₹1,321 crore.

According to her, the REC on June 6 warned the State could be classified as a non-performing asset if the dues were not cleared immediately. She said the Congress government’s decision to seek restructuring of Kaleshwaram project loans until 2040 was rejected by REC, which flagged three consecutive payment defaults.

She alleged that instead of servicing loans or implementing schemes, the Revanth Reddy administration had diverted public funds through advances to select contractors. She named Raghava Constructions, linked to Revenue Minister Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy, and MEIL as beneficiaries of ₹1,200 crore in advances under the Kodangal Lift Irrigation Scheme despite no physical work on ground.

Calling Revanth Reddy the “Emperor of Corruption,” Kavitha said Telangana Jagruthi would soon release a book outlining corruption allegations against him.

She also criticised the Godavari-Banakacherla project, saying it lacked Apex Council clearance required under the AP Reorganisation Act. She said the project was finalised after the Chief Minister’s meeting with his Andhra Pradesh counterpart N Chandrababu Naidu, and accused both of working against Telangana’s river water interests to benefit political allies.