From Our Correspondent
Amaravati: YSRCP president and former Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy launched a strong attack on the TDP-led coalition government, accusing it of presiding over stagnant revenues and an alarming rise in public debt. Quoting the latest report of the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG), Jagan said the state’s financial health in the first six months of 2025–26 is “deeply disappointing” and far removed from the promises made before the elections.
In a post on X, Jagan said the TDP–Jana Sena alliance, which claimed it would substantially increase the state’s revenues, has instead delivered “nominal growth”. According to the CAG numbers cited by him, Andhra Pradesh’s own tax revenue grew only 7.03% in the first half of the current financial year. Key indicators such as GST and sales tax collections — which reflect the state’s real revenue position — rose a mere 2.85%, he noted.
Jagan said the two-year compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of own revenues was just 2.75%, pointing out that this falls far short of the 12–15% growth required to justify the government’s claims of achieving 17.1% GSDP growth in 2025–26. “The gap between projections and reality is glaring,” he said.
He also flagged a sharp decline in capital expenditure, stating that the two-year CAGR stands at –16%, indicating a contraction in development-focused spending. In contrast, Jagan highlighted the revenue growth recorded during his administration between 2019 and 2024 — when own tax revenue increased from ₹58,031 crore to ₹92,922 crore at a CAGR of 9.87%, with GSDP growing at 10.23% during the same period.
The former Chief Minister reserved his sharpest criticism for the state’s borrowings. He alleged that the present government has added ₹2,06,959 crore in loans during its 17 months in office — amounting to 62% of the total borrowing undertaken during his five-year tenure. “If anything is growing at high speed under Chandrababu’s rule, it is only debt,” he said.
Jagan accused the government of misleading the public by projecting robust growth numbers while core revenue indicators paint a far weaker picture. “These CAG figures clearly expose the failures of the TDP coalition government,” he said, calling the state’s financial situation “unsustainable and deeply worrying.”