Telangana Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy recently made a startling admission—his government lacks the funds to implement the very promises that helped him win the election. This revelation came just days after his administration issued full-page advertisements on International Women’s Day, announcing the Indira Mahila Shakti scheme. If there’s no money, why make grand announcements?
Reddy openly acknowledged at a national weekly magazine’s conclave that what appeared feasible before the election became a nightmare once he took office. Breaking down the state’s financial situation, he stated that Telangana’s total revenue receipts stand at ₹18,000 crores. From this, ₹6,500 crores go toward government salaries, and another ₹6,500 crores are allocated for repaying loans, leaving just ₹5,500 crores—far from sufficient for any significant development projects.
This raises an obvious question: why promise schemes like ₹4,000-per-month assistance to BPL women if the government cannot afford them? Congress leaders Sonia and Rahul Gandhi themselves formally announced this scheme before the elections, making it a flagship promise. Did Revanth Reddy, with his years of political experience—including his tenure in the Telugu Desam Party—not foresee the impracticality of such guarantees? Or was this just another calculated electoral gimmick?
In an off-the-record conversation with video journalists, Reddy once admitted (the video gone viral on social media), “We politicians promise all sorts of things that are practically impossible to implement. But if people believe us and vote, what can we do?” While his honesty is refreshing, does it absolve him of hypocrisy? Making false promises isn’t just misleading—it’s a betrayal of the very people who placed their trust in him. Voters are left disillusioned, their hopes crushed by leaders who never intended to fulfill their commitments.
Unfortunately, this isn’t an isolated incident. The Congress party seems to have adopted a strategy of making grand electoral guarantees, only to later scramble for excuses. A now-discredited Bengaluru-based journalist-turned-strategist reportedly played a key role in crafting this approach, helping Congress secure victories in Himachal Pradesh and Karnataka. But the aftermath of these wins speaks volumes.
The Himachal Pradesh government, led by Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, is now financially paralyzed. In a desperate attempt to raise revenue, it has resorted to taxing toilet seats and appealing to Hindu temples for funds to keep the administration afloat. Meanwhile, Karnataka’s Congress government, despite failing to honor its pre-election promises, found ₹6,000 crores in its budget to allocate to the Waqf Board and announced an increase of Imam’s salaries by another ₹6,000 a month. Additionally, they introduced a 4% reservation for minority Muslims in all government contract work. All this while continuing to posture as the champions of secularism while branding the BJP as communal—could hypocrisy be any clearer?
This trend isn’t limited to Telangana and Karnataka. Take Punjab, where the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) won a sweeping mandate but now struggles to fulfill its promises. In Delhi, the situation has worsened with AAP’s founder, Arvind Kejriwal, and his deputy facing allegations of financial mismanagement. The recent Delhi Assembly elections delivered a humiliating defeat to both Kejriwal and Manish Sisodia, reflecting public discontent. This isn’t mere political mudslinging—the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) report itself exposes these irregularities.
To his credit, Revanth Reddy at least acknowledges the reality, unlike a seasoned manipulator like Karnataka’s Siddaramaiah, who managed to evade accountability despite past controversies. But isn’t it time for judicial intervention to address this alarming trend? Should political parties be allowed to systematically mislead voters without facing any consequences? Congress, AAP, and other opposition parties have made a habit of selling dreams they can’t deliver, leaving the electorate feeling cheated time and again. If democracy is to thrive, accountability must follow—before voters lose complete faith in the system.
