Public Accounts Committee (PAC) chairman and senior TDP leader, Payyavula Kesav, on Thursday demanded Chief Minister, Jagan Mohan Reddy, to answer as to why the State revenue has not increased when the growth rate has gone up.

Talking to media persons at the party headquarters here, Kesav asked Jagan whether he can come out with facts on what was the growth rate and revenue of the State during Chandrababu Naidu regime and what is the growth rate and revenue in the past four years.

Terming Jagan as a great capitalist but not an economist, Kesav said, in a rather sarcastic way, that the global organisations are eager to study the economic policies of Jagan.

He asked how the Government revenue goes up without increasing the capital expenditure on primary sectors. The lakhs of crores of development that is projected in the State budgetary proposals is not seen at the grassroots level, Payayvula felt.

Recalling Jagan’s remarks as the leader of the Opposition during the TDP regime when the budgetary proposals were presented to the Assembly that if the growth rate increases the revenue of the State too should go up, Payyavula asked the Chief Minister to answer as to why the revenue has not increased despite the growth rate is up.

The PAC Chairman felt that Minister for Finance, Buggana Rajendranath, as is his wont, has made every attempt to take the people of the State into an imaginary world in the last budget of this Government. When compared to the expenditure made by the TDP government for irrigation and other sectors, the funds being spent by this Government do not match at all, Payyavula observed.

“The Jagan Mohan Reddy Government did not spend even Rs 20,000 cr in the past four years for primary sectors,” he said, adding that even this amount was spent to clear the pending bills. Jagan is strong only in the cash war and he is going to implement it in the coming polls, Payyavula Kesav remarked.

The TDP MLA expressed surprise as to why Jagan’s Delhi visit is confirmed only when some notices are served on his associates. Payavula Kesav made it clear that the Backward Classes in the State always own the TDP and not the YSRCP.

Public Accounts Committee (PAC) chairman and TDP MLA, Payyavula Kesav, on Wednesday said that the Jagan Mohan Reddy Government was levelling baseless charges against the earlier TDP regime with regard to the Skill Development project and announced that his party will wage a legal battle to bring the facts to light.

Talking to media persons, Payyav Kesav asked whether the Crime Investigation Department (CID), which is claiming that funds have been deposited with the accounts of the TDP leaders, can give the details to whose accounts the funds were deposited, when and from where.

Chief Minister Jagan Mohan Reddy, who destroyed the Skill Development project which is aimed at paving a beautiful future to the youth, is shamelessly making baseless charges against the TDP, Kesav remarked.

If Siemens organisation commits a mistake, how former chief minister, Nara Chandrababu Naidu, is responsible for that, Payyavula Kesav asked and pointed out that the same Siemens organisation had entered into agreements with six State Governments before signing a MoU with the AP government.

It is almost four years since Jagan Mohan Reddy came to power and why all these years he is keeping silent and why the Chief Minister could not decide anything on this matter, Kesav asked. Chandrababu Naidu has transformed Hyderabad city into an IT Hub and after the bifurcation he also wanted to provide better job opportunities to the youth and thus the TDP government entered into an agreement with the Siemens organisation, he added.

Mentioning a report that chairman of the Siemens, Suman Bose, had benefited some politicians, Kesav asked in which way it is related to Chandrababu. Siemens is a German-based company and it has its offices in over 160 countries. After learning that it is training the youth in Gujarat and after studying its activities, Chandrababu signed the MoU with the company, Kesav explained.

If the Siemens commits a mistake how Chandrababu is responsible for that, he said, adding that a document relating to the Siemens is being produced before the public and Jagan, his Ministers besides the other ruling party leaders should respond after going through the paper. The agreement entered into with Siemens clearly defined what it should do and what its sister concern, Design Tech should do, he stated.

TDP MLA and chairman of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC), Payyavula Kesav, on Tuesday said that Chief Minister, Jgan Mohan Reddy, is favouring his own associates in power purchasing tenders thus forcing the government to lose heavily.

Kesav told media persons through Zoom that by favouring his own men in power purchase agreements, the State government is imposing a heavy burden on the common man. Stating that Jagan Mohan Reddy, soon after becoming the Chief Minister in his maiden speech levelled several allegations against the TDP government that several irregularities had taken place in the purchase of solar power, Kesav said that the Chief Minister even declared that a probe would be ordered into these irregularities.

“Later, on the floor of the Assembly too, Jagan made several charges against the TDP government and tried to make people believe these issues,” Kesav said and asked if any irregularities had taken place during Chandrababu Naidu’s regime why the Jagan government is keeping mum till now. The ruling party even knocked at the High Court doors too and finally felt embarrassed, he added.

The High Court has made it clear that there were absolutely no irregularities in the power purchase agreements during the Chandrababu regime, Kesav said and stated that the Jagan government too agreed with the High Court order. The government even released the necessary funds, but the Jagan Reddy government’s statements only resulted in the investors to take back their decisions, he stated.

The situation has come to such a pass that the whole country is not believing the Andhra Pradesh government, the MLA said and stated that the decisions taken by the Jagan government seriously hit the power sector. The State government which made a large-scale false campaign on the solar power sector has again recalled tenders only to hand over the contracts to its yesmen and thus cancelled the tenders called during the TDP regime, he said.

“When the government tried to allot the contracts to the Adani Group, the Tata Group approached the court. Finally, the court cancelled the contracts saying that these contracts are being illegally allotted to the Adani Group,” he remarked.

Kesav asked as to why the State government tried to accept the tenders by a contractor which were rejected by the whole country. This is nothing but to favour close associates of Jagan, he remarked.

Maintaining that the TDP wants to ensure that the people should not suffer any losses due to the faulty policies of the ruling dispensation, Kesav asked why the tenders were allotted in a pumped storage system against the Central norms and against the Supreme Court order. He felt that the tender system should be transparent and demanded that the agreements be reviewed.

The Telugu Desam Party (TDP) on Wednesday expressed serious concern over the deeper financial crisis in Andhra Pradesh which is pushing the State into the worst economic emergency.

Talking to media persons over zoom, party MLA and Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee Payyavula Keshav said that the TDP has been saying for the past four months that the State is following the path of Sri Lanka. The Andhra Pradesh Government has borrowed funds four times more than Sri Lanka and challenged the Jagan Mohan Reddy Government whether it is ready for an open and special audit.

An in-depth study be done on the financial situation of the State as Andhra Pradesh is in the most perilous situation, he added. Pointing out that the Reserve Bank of India has prepared the risk analysis and the Union Finance Ministry has made a presentation on this in which Andhra Pradesh is either on top or in second place in all the index, Mr Payyavula said that this risk analysis is made strictly on the guidelines of the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

“This is only a tip of the iceberg,” the TDP leader said and expressed serious concern that a special financial situation is prevailing in the State. Accounts for Rs 40,000 to Rs 50,000 c are not made public yet and if this too comes out then one can easily imagine the situation, he felt. The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) should bring the facts to light and the qualifying certificate issued to the State by the CAG is unique as no other State till now got such certificate, he added.

If the State faces a situation like Sri Lanka, leaders may run away from the State but the common man is the worst-hit as he will not find a place to go. “We have earlier seen persons like Vijay Malya and Gotabaya running away leaving the people in the lurch,” he said.

Stating that he is ready for an open debate on the economic crisis of the State, Mr Payyavula demanded a white paper on the present economic situation of the State. The State Government should provide the accounts details to the CAG or the CAG, with its powers, should demand them, he added.