“The state is completely bankrupt. Not a single paisa of new loan is coming. No one is ready to give even a paisa. Bankers are looking at Telangana representatives like they’re thieves,” declared Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy. Speaking on May 6 at an event organised by a media house at the Police Command Control Centre in Hyderabad, the Chief Minister delivered a blunt and alarming assessment of the fiscal mess his government is currently grappling with.
The CM didn’t stop there. Highlighting the state’s dire cash flow problems, he added: “While we need Rs 22,000 crore in revenue, our actual income is only Rs 18,500 crore. Even if you cut me up, Telangana won’t earn more. We must all come together to take the state forward.”
In the context of government employees demanding PRC announcement and release of arrears and drought allowances, CM Revanth Reddy made these helpless comments about the state’s financial condition.
He questioned – “At a time when the government is financially struggling, the leaders of employee unions are declaring a war… against whom? Against the people of Telangana?”
“Now when I asked how much we are paying now, I was told that from December 7, 2023, to March 31, 2025, we have paid Rs 1.52 lakh crores in loans, principal, and interest, Sir,” said Revanth Reddy.
“The loan we have taken is Rs 1.58 lakh crores. In 16 months, though we took a loan, we have paid Rs 1.52 lakh crores towards the loans, principals, and interest taken by the previous government(BRS), Sir. Not a single rupee of the loan we brought has been used for public welfare or for government employees. The entire amount was used to clear the Rs 8.29 lakh crore dues left behind by them, Sir,” said Chief Secretary Ramakrishna Rao.
“If you ask how much we are paying now — we are in a situation where Rs 7,000 crores must be paid every month as principal and interest, Sir. Whether we ate or didn’t eat, we must pay Rs 7,000 crores every month just to service the debt burden, Sir,” said Ramakrishna Rao, he added.
“That’s not all — you government employees got retirement age extended from 58 to 61 years. Since retirement benefits must be given, three years were added. Without giving those retirement benefits, how much was left as dues for you? — Rs. 8,500 crores.”
“For 3 lakh retired employees, the second layer of pensions was added. Rs. 9,000 crores of dues were left behind,” said Revanth.
“Even if you cut me up, there is no income beyond Rs 18,500 crores. What will you do with me? Will the leaders of employee unions cut me up and eat me? We only have Rs 18,500 crores — tell me how to divide it. Should we stop old-age pensions? Should we stop free electricity? Should we stop Shaadi Mubarak? Tell me what to stop. Whatever you want stopped, tell the people.
If you say, ‘Stop your schemes and we’ll take bonuses, increase our salaries, and give us whatever’s left after you’ve eaten,’ then say it. I’ll arrange a public meeting and bring 10 lakh people… Let the employee union leaders declare: ‘We gave this chit to the Chief Minister… Governance will not run as per this.’
Otherwise, tell me — should we make petrol, which is Rs 100, cost Rs 200? Should we make rice, which we give for Rs 30, cost Rs 60? Should we double the prices of dal, salt, tamarind, and jaggery? Tell me what to raise. Tell me where to raise prices.
Without raising prices and without stopping existing schemes, new demands cannot be fulfilled,” said the Chief Minister.
His statements reflects not just the current financial mismanagement under the Congress regime, but also the long-term consequences of reckless spending and policy failures during the previous Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) government.
Years of populist schemes, unchecked borrowing, and administrative short-sightedness have left the Telangana’s coffers dry, forcing it into a corner where basic welfare commitments are being questioned and salaries of government employees are becoming harder to honour.
While CM Revanth Reddy publicly laments a bankrupt treasury and pleads helplessness in meeting welfare and salary commitments, his own government’s actions tell a hypocritical and outrageous story. In a state gasping under debt, the Congress administration has shockingly splurged taxpayer money on non-productive luxury indulgences. From organising beauty contests to staging expensive ministerial vanity tours, the government’s priorities are not only questionable—they are offensive.
According to public records and media reports, the government spent a staggering Rs 200 crores on beauty contests and elaborate event setups, with zero return on investment. In another extravagant move, Rs 4.52 crores were blown on a so-called tourism ‘study tour’ to observe boat operations in foreign countries—a bizarre justification that has nothing to do with Telangana’s revenue generation. Between January and April 2025 alone, ministers racked up Rs 17.22 crores in whirlwind “official” tours, even as the state cried insolvency. Adding insult to injury, the government spent Rs 45.68 crores on 42 chartered flight trips, while publicly posturing that ministers and officials were flying economy to save costs.
BJP Telangana has stated that the Congress government, under CM Revanth Reddy, has completely given up on governance.
చేయి పార్టీ చేతులెత్తేసింది
📌 అభయ హస్తమని నమ్మించింది – ప్రజల నెత్తిన భస్మాసుర హస్తాన్ని పెట్టింది
📌 మార్పు అంటూ ఊదరగొట్టింది – ఉద్యోగుల కడుపు మాడ్చింది
📌 అద్భుతాలు సృష్టిస్తామని ఆశ చూపింది – అడ్డగోలు వాదనలతో మాట మార్చింది
📌 ప్రజలకే పట్టం అంటూ ప్రచారం చేసింది – జనం… pic.twitter.com/zKUTrVm67M
— BJP Telangana (@BJP4Telangana) May 6, 2025
Far from a moment of transparency alone, the CM’s statement is an indictment of both his Congress party’s failure to arrest the downward spiral, and the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) government’s disastrous legacy. What Telangana is now enduring is not an overnight crisis but a decade-long unravelling of fiscal discipline, fuelled by grandiose welfare schemes, unaccounted borrowings, and administrative misadventures.
