Telangana government's ₹200 crore Miss World pageant sparks Congress vs BRS war
Senior BRS leader KTR questioned the Congress government for allocating a staggering amount for the Formula-E race and the Miss World Pageant.
Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS), Telangana's opposition party launched a sharp attack on Chief Minister Revanth Reddy's government questioning the state's financial priorities after the revelation that the state is facing a ₹71,000 crore revenue shortfall.
Senior BRS leader KT Rama Rao questioned the Congress government for allocating a staggering amount for the Formula-E race event and the organisation of the Miss World Pageant show despite the financial woes.
According to KTR, the Congress government led by Revanth Reddy allocated ₹200 crore for hosting the 72nd Miss World pageant, while another ₹46 crore was spent on the Formula-E race event.
All this at a time with a deficit of ₹71,000 crore, especially when the state's government is struggling to pay salaries and cover basic expenses, leaving little room for development projects.
In a recent social media post, KTR said, "So Congress Government wants us to believe that all is well in Telangana. Apparently according to them - Investments are coming in thick & fast - the Agricultural Sector is growing - Welfare is at its highest - CM is working 18 hours a day."
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KTR also asked Rahul Gandhi to explain the Congress government's idea of engaging in "perverse logic" by spending taxpayer money on a beauty contest.
These concerns sparked a dramatic protest during the state assembly session on Tuesday with several BRS lawmakers carrying handfuls of dried crops to highlight their claims of “Congress-made drought,” an NDTV report stated.
The opposition also demanded that the money earmarked for the beauty contest should be redirected to support farmers, specifically demanding instead ₹25,000 per acre for those suffering for
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The BRS has long been critical of the Congress government's financial handling, accusing it of squandering state funds on promises made during the 2023 election campaign.
Revanth Reddy responds
Meanwhile, in a swift rebuttal, Chief Minister Revanth Reddy turned the blame towards his predecessor, K Chandrasekhar Rao, accusing him of "bankrupting Telangana."
Reddy accused the BRS of having left the incoming Congress government with a massive public debt that requires monthly interest payments of ₹1.53 lakh crore.
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"If such a big amount had been saved, this government would have built houses for all... farm loans could have been waived for another 70 lakh people," he was quoted by news agency ANI.
Telangana Budget 2025-26
Telangana Deputy Chief Minister and Finance Minister Bhatti Vikramarka on Wednesday tabled the 2025-26 state budget in the ongoing assembly session, saying that the state government was focusing on advancement in technology, transport, infrastructure, and environment conservation.
The budget proposes a total expenditure of ₹3,04,965 crore, with revenue expenditure of ₹2,26,982 crore and capital expenditure of ₹36,504 crore.
