Jagan accuses AP Govt of manipulating economic data

YSR Congress Party president Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy launched a scathing attack on the Andhra Pradesh government, accusing it of misleading the public with what he termed as “fabricated economic statistics.” He alleged that the coalition government was projecting inflated Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) figures to create a false impression of rapid economic growth, even as the state’s financial health remains precarious.

Addressing the media, Jagan questioned the growth projections released by the state government, which claim that Andhra Pradesh recorded an economic growth rate of 11.75 percent in 2024-25 and is expected to grow at 10.75 percent in 2025-26. He ridiculed the government’s assertion that the state ranks third in the country in terms of economic growth, calling the figures manufactured numbers prepared in the Chief Minister’s office.

“If these growth rates were genuine, there should have been a corresponding rise in tax revenues. But the reality is completely different,” Jagan said. He cited data released by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) for the first nine months of the current financial year, which, according to him, exposed the hollowness of the government’s claims.

The former Chief Minister pointed out that Andhra Pradesh’s tax revenue growth over the last two years averaged just 1.97 percent. “How can a state that claims over 11 percent GSDP growth record less than 2 percent growth in tax revenues? These figures are so bizarre that even global economists would be baffled,” he remarked. Referring to the latest CAG report on revenue performance of 23 states, Jagan said Andhra Pradesh stood second from the bottom, ranking 22nd in the country. “This is the real picture of the state’s economy. This is Chandrababu Naidu’s so-called ‘Vision’, a 22nd rank performance,” he quipped.