AP, Telangana Taking Loans Beyond Limit: Centre

The opposition parties hit back at the NDA-led central government for targeting their governments and criticizing them regarding taking loans beyond their repayment capacities, while even it was doing the same. The central government convened an all-party meeting to help the state governments learn lessons from the ongoing financial crisis in neighbouring Sri Lanka and warned them that drawing unlimited loans would end up in a similar risky situation like in the foreign country.

The meeting chaired by Union minister for external affairs S. Jaishankar discussed the loans being drawn by both the Telugu states. The central officials mentioned that around 10 states in India were mired in debts. These remarks angered the MPs of the ruling TRS and YCP at the meeting. Why should you point out at the states while mentioning about Sri Lanka, which is a country, they asked.

The TRS MPs agreed that their government was taking loans heavily but at the same time, reminded that the Centre too was doing the same. The central government had imposed a limit of 3.5% of FRBM for the states with regard to taking loans. The Centre cut down the loan drawing capacity by Rs 53,000 crore and did not allow Telangana to take loans of Rs 15,000 crore. It is not just the TRS government in Telangana but even other states were checked from taking heavy loans, the TRS MPs said.

It should be remembered that even the Centre cannot draw loans beyond 6.2% of the FRBM limits which means 40% of the GDP but they are going for loans to the tune of 59% of FRBM and who is asking the Centre about it, they questioned. “You are taking loans and managing the show at the Centre but not allowing us to do the same and this is pure discrimination,” they said.

The meeting made a mention of states, including Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal, where the BJP is not in the ruling. The TRS and YCP MPs alleged that the Centre was targeting non-BJP ruled state governments with a political motive.