The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh News : Rosaiah goes candid, says ministerial job is highly demanding

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, May 11, 2005

Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh

Rosaiah goes candid, says ministerial job is highly demanding

Staff Reporter

`No-nonsense attitude has made my party colleagues angry'

K. Rosaiah

RAJAHMUNDRY: The Finance Minister, K. Rosaiah, has said he is not in a position to meet the demands of many of his ministerial colleagues and legislators because of budget constraints.

Mr. Rosaiah, who was here on Tuesday to attend local programmes, addressed a press conference at R and B guesthouse. When asked to speak on his one-year tenure as Finance Minister, Mr. Rosaiah said: "Many of my ministerial colleagues and legislators are angry with me. When they come to me for getting their work done, I would say - I will examine and then do it. I don't want to be popular."

He said that he had learnt a lot during the last one year about financial management with limited resources. Through debt swapping, they had reduced the interest burden of Rs. 280 crores in the last one year.

Naidu flayed

Replying to a question, the Finance Minister said that, the Telugu Desam Party president, N. Chandrababu Naidu, had failed as an opposition leader, even after being in power for nine long years. "He still feels that he is in power and the Chief Minister, Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy, is in the Opposition... that is his problem," Mr. Rosaiah observed.

The Finance Minister said that his Government, through Praja Patham, had addressed the basic needs of people like drinking water, employment generation and food guarantee scheme. He said that there was no comparison between the TDP's Janmabhoomi programme and the Praja Patham. During the Janmabhoomi, the TDP spent crores of rupees to mobilise DWCRA women to their meetings. "The RTC authorities had come to me and asked me for Rs.27 crores hire charges incurred during the TDP regime for running buses for Janmabhoomi programmes. We have not spent even Rs. 27 for our Praja Patham," the Minister observed. He also said that the Chief Minister had asked MLAs and Ministers not to make promises during Praja Patham.

RTC plea on MV tax

On the RTC's request to reduce MV tax, Mr. Rosaiah said a deeper study was required on this issue and enough exercise would have to be done by his department.

He also said that additional demands could not be met without consulting the Chief Minister and his secretaries.

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