Why is the AP finance minister ending up as a joke in Delhi?

The Central Government appears to have adopted a tough attitude towards the AP Government’s spending spree. The Central Government is said to be serious about the spending that is unproductive. The spending in the name of welfare schemes is being viewed seriously. Is this the reason why no Central minister is ready to give an appointment to AP Finance Minister Buggana Rajendranath?

Buggana is in the national capital for the last two days and is trying to secure appointments with several key ministers. He is trying to meet Finance Minister Nirmala Seetharaman, Jal Shakti minister Gajendra Shekawat, Minister for water transport Sarbananda Sonowal, Minister for Law Kiren Rijiju and even tourism minister G Kishan Reddy. But, why he is trying to meet them is being kept as a secret. Nothing is being revealed to the media about the reasons to meet these ministers.

He is also trying to meet the minister for steel Rameshwar Prasad Singh. He is also said to be making effots to meet the officials of the Niti Ayog to discuss the share of loans and the allocations to the state for various flagship schemes, including Polavaram.

Sources say that the AP’s indiscriminate borrowings have landed the state in huge trouble and the Central Government is tightening screws on the State Government. To circumvent the Central rules, the state has used different methods such as pledging of government and borrowing in the name of the corporations assets to secure loans. But, even that doesn’t seem to be working. So, the AP finance minister is said to be in Delhi to find out newer routes to secure further loans. Quite significantly, even the appointment of G Kishan Reddy has reportedly become difficult. In fact, the AP finance minister tried to meet these ministers in the first week of July, but to no avail.

Buggana’s regular visits to Delhi have become something of a joke these days. Every month, Buggana is making two to three visits to Delhi and each time he is spending two to three days in the national capital. Thus almost a third of his working time is being spent in New Delhi, sources say.