![Madhya Pradesh, 400,000 crore in debt, borrows again to fulfill Bharatiya Janata Party promise Madhya Pradesh, 400,000 crore in debt, borrows again to fulfill Bharatiya Janata Party promise](https://c.ndtvimg.com/2023-12/fn6l5ib8_mohan-yadav_625x300_13_December_23.jpeg)
Mohan Yadav asserts there is “no crisis” and welfare schemes will not be cut off
Bhopal:
Less than two weeks after taking oath, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav sought a Rs 2,000-crore loan from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to meet the state’s expenses.
This is the latest sign of the state government’s deteriorating fiscal health and mounting debt mountain as the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party embarks on the difficult task of fulfilling its promises ahead of the recent assembly polls. . Mr. Yadav inherited a debt burden of nearly 4 billion when he took over from former chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan.
Mr. Chouhan’s welfare system for Mr. Ladri Behna and others is said to have contributed to the overwhelming victory of the Bharatiya Janata Party in what was expected to be a close race. But it came at a high price. The Shivraj Singh Chouhan government borrowed Rs 44,000 crore in 2023 alone, including Rs 500 billion while the poll law was in place. Now that a new government has taken office, the coffers of state governments staring down a long list of promises are empty.
However, Yadav assured Parliament that “there is no crisis” and that welfare schemes will not be discontinued due to lack of funds. “Some people are raising the issue that schemes will be stopped. This is unnecessary fear. No scheme will be stopped, including Ladri Lakshmi Yojana,” he said.
Yadav added that the Bharatiya Janata Party’s manifesto is like the Ramayana and the Gita and assured that all the plans of the previous government will continue.
The opposition parliament is not convinced. Party spokesperson Abbas Hafeez said everyone in Madhya Pradesh is in debt. “Every baby born in Madhya Pradesh is now Rs 40,000 crore in debt. The Bharatiya Janata Party is continuously pushing Madhya Pradesh towards bankruptcy. When will they understand? Do you want it?”
Hafeez said if Congress had won power and formed a government, it would have tried to find new sources of revenue.
Deputy Chief Minister Jagdish Devda hit back, saying the Congress should “reflect” on the debacle instead of blaming the government over debt. “We need to borrow money. If necessary, we will borrow money for development projects such as road construction and irrigation projects.”
Devda claimed that the previous Congress government in the state had also received loans but did not use them for development. Instead, he alleged, they defrauded him of the funds.