Union Budget 2026–27: Centre’s ‘Step-Motherly’ Treatment to Telangana Exposed, Says Dy CM Bhatti

Hyderabad, Feb 1 (TNT): Launching a sharp political attack on the Centre over the Union Budget 2026–27, Telangana Deputy Chief Minister Bhatti Vikramarka on Sunday evening alleged that the BJP-led Union government had adopted a “step-motherly attitude” towards Telangana by denying it any meaningful allocations in the ₹53.47 lakh crore budget.

Speaking to the media at Praja Bhavan here, Bhatti said the budget exposed the Centre’s political bias against non-BJP ruled states, particularly Telangana, despite repeated representations by Chief Minister Revanth Reddy, Cabinet Ministers and MPs to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.

He said Telangana was completely ignored in critical sectors such as bio-pharma, electronics, semiconductors, sports, tourism and the Orange Economy, even though Hyderabad enjoys global recognition as a pharma and electronics hub.

Shifting Hyderabad-centric Orange Economy initiatives to Mumbai, he said, reflected political discrimination rather than economic logic.

The Deputy CM pointed out that no central funds were allocated for flagship state priorities like Musi River rejuvenation, Regional Ring Road, Hyderabad Metro expansion and urban infrastructure, while welfare schemes such as MGNREGS were weakened, adversely impacting rural poor, SCs, STs and minorities.

Questioning the Centre’s fiscal federalism, Bhatti criticised the denial of permission for a 4 percent fiscal deficit to Telangana when the Union government itself fixed its deficit at 4.3 percent, asking whether Telangana was not an integral part of the country.

Calling the budget a setback to cooperative federalism, he urged all Telangana MPs to rise above party politics during the budget session and jointly submit representations to the Centre to safeguard the state’s interests.

Reiterating that the Congress government in Telangana does not believe in ‘vendetta politics’, he said the state remains committed to democratic governance and to contributing to the Centre’s “Viksit Bharat” vision.

TNT TS