As the clock approached 11 AM, the Opposition, which holds a minority position in the Telangana Assembly, began inquiring about when Deputy Chief Minister Bhatti Vikramarka Mallu, who is also the Finance and Energy Minister, would begin presenting the annual budget for the fiscal year 2025-26.
Rumor had it that he would commence his speech at 11:07 AM, as seven is considered his lucky number. Remarkably, right at 11:07 AM, the Finance Minister began his address. This time, however, his delivery was notably subdued and lacked the enthusiasm displayed during his initial budget presentation.
The majority of the ruckus came from the Opposition, with members of the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (formerly known as the Telangana Rashtra Samithi) chanting “Govinda-Govinda” in reference to schemes or sectors that they felt were overlooked, while also labeling some proposals touted as successes by the current government as “Bogus.”
Throughout his address, Bhatti incorporated notable quotes from Mahatma Gandhi, B.R. Ambedkar, and the renowned poet Sri Sri, with one of his songs resonating particularly well with the plight of Telangana’s youth. Bhatti characterized the budget as a well-calibrated mix of welfare and development—akin to a dual engine propelling good governance forward with remarkable momentum. He remained focused on his topics for nearly one hour and fifty minutes without deviation.
Interestingly, as the second half of his speech progressed, even the Opposition seemed to lose their momentum, with a notable absence of witty remarks from either side.
A noteworthy departure from the norm was the absence of KCR (Kalvakuntla Chandrashekar Rao), the founder and leader of the BRS and leader of the Opposition, who had previously dismissed Bhatti’s initial two-hour address in just two minutes. This time, the response fell to Kalvakuntla Taraka Rama Rao, commonly referred to as KTR, who took about 20 minutes to critique the budget, describing it as a composition of “Broken Promises & Rising Debt.”
