YSR Congress Party leader Gudivada Amarnath criticized Andhra Pradesh Minister Nara Lokesh for his response to the state’s GST growth figures. Amarnath highlighted that Lokesh’s recent remarks on the GST numbers came late into the coalition government’s term. He pointed out that the state’s SGST showed a 25% year-on-year growth in the first quarter of FY 2026-27, leading Lokesh to make positive claims.
Amarnath delved deeper into the numbers, revealing that in the first quarter of FY 2025-26, Andhra Pradesh’s SGST had actually shown a -7% year-on-year growth. He explained that the poor performance in the previous year created a base-effect advantage, resulting in an artificial growth for FY 2026-27. Despite Lokesh’s positive outlook, the compounded annual growth rate over two years was only 7.9%, providing little cause for celebration.
The YSRCP leader also highlighted the SGST revenue growth from 2019 to 2024, emphasizing a CAGR of 8.60% despite challenges like the Covid-19 pandemic. He criticized Lokesh for overlooking the state’s fiscal performance in the past two years and only acknowledging positive figures without understanding the underlying reasons. Amarnath cautioned against premature credit-taking based on isolated data points.
