₹200 Crore On Miss World, But No Money For Farmers? Telangana Govt Under Fire

The Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) has strongly criticized Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy over his government’s decision to allocate ₹200 crore for hosting the 72nd Miss World pageant while admitting to a staggering ₹71,000 crore revenue deficit.

During the Assembly budget session on Tuesday, opposition lawmakers staged protests, bringing dried crops to highlight what they call a “Congress-made drought.” They demanded financial aid of ₹25,000 per acre for affected farmers instead of spending public funds on a beauty contest.

Miss World Event Sparks Political Controversy

BRS leader KT Rama Rao (KTR) led the attack, questioning the ruling Congress’ priorities. He pointed out the contradiction in the government prosecuting him over the ₹46 crore Formula-E race while justifying a significantly larger expenditure on Miss World.

“Spending ₹46 crore for a Formula-E race was wrong, but spending ₹200 crore on a beauty contest is right? What kind of perverse logic is this? Can you explain, Rahul Gandhi?” KTR wrote on X (formerly Twitter).

KTR further criticized the Congress’ claims of Telangana’s economic stability, questioning why the Chief Minister admitted to negative growth and a financial deficit.

Congress’ Response: Blaming BRS for Telangana’s Financial Mess

CM Revanth Reddy retaliated, accusing the previous BRS-led government under K Chandrasekhar Rao (KCR) of leaving Telangana in financial ruins. He claimed the Congress inherited massive public debt, with monthly interest payments of ₹1.53 lakh crore.

“If this amount had been saved, we could have built houses for all and waived farm loans for another 70 lakh people,” Reddy was quoted as saying by ANI.

Deputy CM and Finance Minister Bhatti Vikramarka assured that the government is addressing the financial backlog, stating that ₹10,000 crore in dues had already been cleared.

BRS Labels Congress’ Moves as ‘Hypocritical’

While BRS has launched an aggressive attack on Congress’ economic policies, its spokesperson Krishank framed the issue as more about “Congress’ double standards and hypocrisy.” The reference was to the corruption case against KTR over the Formula-E event.

KTR accused the Congress of reckless spending to fulfill unrealistic election promises, leading to Telangana’s financial crisis. He claimed the ruling party’s “negative politics and policies” had created a stark contrast between its claims of development and the actual situation on the ground.

Political Rivalry Intensifies Amid Growing Public Scrutiny

The controversy over government spending has escalated tensions between Congress and BRS, with heated exchanges between Revanth Reddy and KTR. Last week, their rivalry took a bitter turn when KTR referred to Reddy as a “mad dog.”

This will be the second consecutive year that India hosts the Miss World pageant, with the 2024 edition held in Mumbai. Czech Republic’s Krystyna Pyszkova was crowned the winner.

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