The Telangana Budget has betrayed public aspirations and is driven purely by “vote-bank politics”, said BJP State president N. Ramchander Rao on Friday, claiming it was far removed from the “needs of the poor and lacked a clear vision” for the State’s future.Addressing a press conference at the BJP State office, Mr. Rao described the Budget presented by Finance Minister Bhatti Vikramarka as recycled and directionless. “It appears the Finance Minister was simply rereading last year’s Budget. There is nothing new or innovative. This is a failed, false and fancy Budget designed only for optics,” he charged.Nearly two-and-a-half years into its tenure, the Congress government had failed to spell out the real impact of its policies on the ground, he said, alleging that key sectors continued to be neglected, particularly education. The sector received only a ₹1,000-crore increase and accounted for about 8.6% of the total Budget allocation, he pointed out.“When Andhra Pradesh allocates around 13% and Bihar nearly 25% to education, Telangana’s misplaced priorities stand exposed,” Mr. Rao said. Targeting Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy, the BJP leader said repeated announcements of allocating ₹1,000 crore to Osmania University remained hollow promises without visible follow-up. He dismissed the government’s talk of integrated schools and colleges as empty rhetoric, alleging that no serious effort was evident to strengthen the education system.On healthcare, Mr. Rao said the Aarogyasri scheme itself was in poor condition, with pending dues and lack of clarity. “Placing pensions and other welfare schemes under a struggling healthcare programme will only deepen the crisis,” he warned.He accused the government of deliberately refusing to acknowledge that the proposed Regional Ring Road and Regional Ring Rail projects were initiatives of the Centre. About the new rural employment scheme VBGRAMG causing a loss, Mr. Rao alleged massive fraud under the earlier MGNREGA programme. Bogus beneficiaries, non-existent works and fake claims running into crores of rupees had resulted in heavy losses, he claimed.On farmer welfare, Mr. Rao said the government should have released five instalments by now. Criticising the Musi River rejuvenation project, he said it evoked memories of Emergency-era demolitions. While stating that no one opposed development or beautification, he questioned the lack of planning and transparency. The project cost had already escalated to ₹7,000 crore, he said, referring to objections raised by Tushar Gandhi.Mr. Rao also alleged that irrigation projects were dependent solely on Central assistance and said the Budget had failed to fulfil even one of the six guarantees promised by the Congress government.Meanwhile, Union Minister of State for Home Bandi Sanjay Kumar termed the Budget “empty boasts” and “fancy allocations,” alleging that the government was preparing to impose an additional debt burden of ₹1 lakh crore. He said the Budget had ignored tenant farmers, agricultural labourers, women, students and the unemployed, adding that it sounded the death knell for the Congress party’s “Six Guarantees”.Published - March 20, 2026 06:01 pm IST