VIJAYAWADA: A blame game between HRD and IT Minister Nara Lokesh and the YSRCP over the zero debt sustainability of Andhra Pradesh unfolded on the social media platform ‘X’ on Monday.
In his post, Lokesh, citing the statement of expenditures for FY 2020-21 and FY 2023-24, asserted that the economic devastation caused by YS Jagan Mohan Reddy during the five years of YSRCP rule in the State was substantial. “All systems were weakened. Debts were incurred. While interest on the debt incurred by all governments combined over 58 years was Rs 14,155 crore by 2019, by 2024, the interest to be paid on the debt has reached Rs 24,944 crore,” he said.
Lokesh added that the interest paid on the debt incurred during Jagan Reddy’s five years in power is approximately Rs 11,000 crore more than the interest paid on the debt accumulated by all previous governments. Rebutting his claims, the YSRCP posted on its official X handle, challenging Lokesh to comment on the performance during the period 2014-19, when the TDP-led NDA was in power.
“Andhra Pradesh’s share of the interest burden from the combined State of AP in 2013-14 was only Rs 7,488 crore. This means that the interest burden from liabilities incurred by all governments from the time of state formation in 1956 to 2014 was only Rs 7,488 crore, and this increased to Rs 15,342 crore by 2018-19,” the YSRCP claimed.
The party questioned, “What does this mean? The interest burden due to liabilities contracted by the State government over 58 years doubled during the 5 years of the TDP government. This was although your government, during 2014-19, did not face any significant distress such as the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic. Furthermore, you were also part of the NDA government during 2014-18. Despite all this, your government performed miserably and pushed the State into zero debt sustainability. Do you deny this?” it asked.