‘Balanced budget’: Karnataka’s Priyank Kharge fires back at Nara Lokesh’s ‘spicy’ jibe, flags Andhra Pradesh’s fiscal debt

"Everyone enjoys a bit of spice in their food, but just as nutritionists recommend a balanced diet, economists too advocate a balanced budget, Congress leader Priyank Kharge wrote.

By: Express Web Desk

Updated: October 17, 2025 11:19 AM IST

2 min read

Congress leader Priyank Kharge had said that the incentive package offered to Google by Andhra Pradesh was an economic disaster. (File Photo)

After Andhra Pradesh’s IT and HRD Minister Nara Lokesh’s ‘spicy’ jibe, Karnataka IT Minister Priyank Kharge quipped saying, “Everyone enjoys a bit of spice in their food, but just as nutritionists recommend a balanced diet, economists too advocate a balanced budget.”

He posted on X: “The neighbour’s total liabilities have now ballooned to nearly ₹10 lakh crore. In just one year, they have borrowed over Rs 1.61 lakh crore, and the revenue deficit to GSDP has worsened, rising from 2.65% to 3.61%.”

Kharge ended with writing, “Whatever said and done, we will always be: neighbour’s envy and owner’s pride.”

On Tuesday, the state government has announced that Google will invest USD 15 billion to set up an AI data centre at Visakhapatnam – its biggest investment yet in the country. Congress leader Priyank Kharge said that the incentive package offered to Google by Andhra Pradesh was an economic disaster.

“They say Andhra food is spicy. Seems some of our investments are too. Some neighbours are already feeling the burn! If other states are inefficient, what can I do? I urge them to focus on fixing issues like pothole-ridden roads and power cuts. We are the only double-engine bullet train government in India,” Lokesh wrote on X on Tuesday.

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