Two women in BJP embarrassing its cadre on AP loan arrears

• No info on the exact loan figures of AP
• Union Finance Minister Nirmala disappoints Purandeswari
• Buggana repeats Nirmala’s figures and RBI details
• Enough confusion among the people on AP loans
• Politics playing more than facts
• Creating much hype around the loans
• What is the fact is a million dollar question

Two women stalwarts in BJP are giving enough stuff to debate and ponder to the political activists in Andhra Pradesh by giving different loan figures. One woman is Uninon Finance Minister Nirmala Sitaraman and another is Daggubati Purandeswari, AP State president of BJP.

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Firstly, Purandeswari, who addressed a press conference, stated that AP government’s loans during YS Jaganmohan Reddy government touchedRs 10.77 lakh crore, which is more that Telugu Desam chief N Chandrababu Naidu’s figure of Rs. 10.31 lakh crore.

Nirmala Sitaraman announced that the AP’s loan figures are just Rs 4.42 crore. She told the figures in her reply to the questions of TD MP Kanakamedala Ravidra Kumar, YSRCP MP Raghuramakrishnam Raju and TD MP from Khammam Nama Nagageswara Rao in Rahya Sabha and Lok Sabha. The statement of union finance minister took place accidentally in Parliament after Purandeswari’s press meet. Nirmala’s statement had given much embarrassment to BJP’s new chief of AP. She rushed to Delhi and asked Nirmala to give all the loan figures of AP government including the loans taken in the name of different corporations of the state. Purandeswari’s meeting with Nirmala witnessed former’s discomfort with the figures. Even after AP BJP’s chief met, Nirmala repeated the same loan figures in the Parliament.

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Though the entire episode had given much relief to YSRCP leaders, it has became quite awkward to the BJP leaders in AP. The BJP leaders, who are participating news debates in different channels, faced discomfort in supporting Purandeswari’s statement. Keeping this in view, Purandeswari stated that she is committed to her earlier loan figures of AP at Rs 10.77 lakh crore.

AP Finance Minister Buggana Rajendra Prasad intervened in the episode and claimed the state loans are only Rs 4.42 lakh crore and Union government’s figures are correct and proper. “Chandrababu government during 2014 and 2019 made Rs 16,419 crore more than the loan limit of the state and YSRCP government got less than that. The government had permission to take another Rs 28,466 core, but we did not make use of it”, he said.

Why there is so much confusion over the AP’s loan figures is a million dollars question. K Phani Kumar, a senior journalist, said, “Either the figures of Nirmala or Purandeswari may be wrong. The RBI or CAG can only give correct figures and false figures will be making round till the facts come out”. (eom)

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