Divisive, fallacious argument by KTR: Breaking down the 321-slide presentation debunking lies about South’s tax devolution and central govt’s infra spend

One of the narratives across the South-North divide is that the South states contribute more cash to the central authorities and are subsequently rather more superior than the Northern states. Leading this pack is none aside from KCR’s son, KTR. He can be a cabinet minister in his father’s cabinet (duh!) and lots of contemplate him the de-facto Chief Minister. 

He claims that whereas Telangana paid 3.68 lakh crores to the central authorities, it solely bought again 1.68 lakh crores in return. He has been making this argument for the reason that 12 months 2020 (at the moment the numbers had been clearly lesser). He went to the extent of calling everybody who countered this fallacious argument “ignoramuses”. 

Next time earlier than some ignoramuses bask in chest thumping on how a lot has been bestowed upon Telangana by Govt of India, assume earlier than you communicate👇 https://t.co/b9zEdJhKa3

— KTR (@KTRBRS) November 1, 2020

At varied public conferences, he challenged the BJP to show him mistaken and he’ll resign. He efficiently made it sound just like the Government of Telangana truly gave the Government of India the three.68 lakh crores and bought only one.68 lakh crores in return. The fallacious narrative was repeated so many instances up to now 3 years that folks and the media began believing in it. This harmful, divisive and fallacious argument went un-countered for practically 3 years. 

On June seventeenth, 2023, Union Minister Kishan Reddy (who’s an MP from Secunderabad, Telangana) gave an almost 3-hour lengthy presentation to the folks of Telangana. In an in depth 321 (sure, Three Hundred and Twenty-One) slide presentation, he defined together with proofs, how the central authorities and related PSUs truly spent near a whopping 27 lakh crores on varied features associated to Telangana. 

Outside of the 1.78 lakh crores of precise cash that was transferred to the Telangana authorities as a part of the devolution pool, a whopping 5 lakh crores has been spent by the central authorities on varied infrastructure and different developmental works; 1.58 lakh crores was spent on procuring Cotton & Paddy at MSP; 7.5 lakh crores price of loans by PSUs to the Telangana authorities and so forth. 

The intention of this text is to not dwell on particulars of the above graphic; neither is it to ask KTR to resign as a result of he has been confirmed mistaken, and the way! The intention is to debate the exceptional finance administration of the Modi authorities over the previous 9 years that enabled a lot spending on infrastructure; and the dangerously divisive and fallacious argument that non-BJP events are making within the South. 

In one of many slides, we’re proven that there was a whopping 376% within the precise quantity that has devolved to the states from 2014 onwards, as in comparison with 2004-2014 (and that Telangana has seen a rise of practically 253% enhance within the absolute quantity. 

By any normal, these are actually phenomenal numbers that now we have achieved. This is after the truth that Income Tax slab charges have truly decreased the quantity of tax we pay; the GST on 100s of things is far lesser than the pre-GST days; Corporate tax can be lesser in comparison with earlier and so on. This fiscal prudence has been achieved by rising compliance – a feat that continues to be some of the underrated achievements of the Modi authorities. 

In addition to devolving the precise money of 41% to the states, it’s one more phenomenal achievement of how the remaining 59% was spent by the Modi authorities. Yet once more, one other snippet from this good Kishan Reddy’s presentation gave, we see how the infrastructure spending has been phenomenal. Let’s simply take the Roads for instance: 

The above graphic tells us {that a} whopping 1.08 lakh crore was spent on roads alone in only one state (that by the best way doesn’t get accounted for the 1.78 lakh crore devolved to the federal government of Telangana). Similar statistics on Railways, Electricity, Civil Aviation and so on can be found and all show the superb significant spending on India’s infrastructure at a scale that was by no means seen earlier than. 

This brings me to the second and the extra necessary level I wished to make – the damaging, divisive and fallacious arguments that KTR (and his ilk) are making to create a rift between Indians. The argument is that South India pays more cash to the central authorities and subsequently is superior to North India.  

The argument is harmful as a result of they intend to showcase South India as the one torchbearer of India’s financial system and subsequently everybody else needs to be subservient to them.  By making it solely about cash, they need us to disregard manpower availability; infrastructure spending; defence spending; rescue spending; reduction spending and so on

The argument is divisive as a result of it pits Indians in opposition to Indians in an Inferior vs Superior battle. True, at the moment’s Bihar and UP don’t contribute as a lot cash as Telangana does (as a %age inhabitants contribution) however then now we have 10s of 1000s of staff from UP and Bihar working in Telangana, constructing infrastructure in Telangana. Would Telangana have the ability to assemble a lot infrastructure if not for the provision of manpower from different states?  

The argument is fallacious as a result of it’s merely bereft of logic and customary sense. It is a good argument to make that states that do higher on inhabitants management and tax collections needs to be rewarded. Guess what? Modi authorities is the primary authorities to have rewarded states that carry out effectively on inhabitants management and tax efforts. This has additionally created a wholesome competitors between states to do effectively on these parameters too. 

The central authorities collects earnings tax from the folks of India, and so to make it sound like it’s the Government of Telangana that gave 3.68 lakh crores to the central authorities is insincere to the core. This argument can merely be prolonged to KTR’s personal ministries – for instance – how a lot taxes are folks of Hyderabad paying and the way a lot of that’s being spent on Hyderabad? The argument will be prolonged to even asking how a lot taxes folks of a wealthy road pay versus how a lot is being spent by the federal government on that sheet. We had countered the same argument the numerous opposition events usually made on the cash launched by the central authorities throughout pure disasters and didn’t hassle in regards to the big logistical help that the central authorities gives (Armed forces, tonnes of reduction materials, trains and so on). 

The Modi authorities is now releasing this knowledge for all states one after the other. It exhibits how infrastructure spending and the provision of loans to varied sections of society are as uniform as it might probably get. We all nonetheless bear in mind the times when Railway ministers used to face up within the Parliament, current India’s Railway finances however embrace a slew of trains completely for his or her residence states! In a really quick time, now we have come a great distance from travesties resembling that. If something, Kishan Reddy’s superb 3-hour lengthy presentation proves that the Modi authorities’s uniform method in the direction of creating whole India is one thing to be extraordinarily pleased with.