Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Monday accused the Central government of undermining federal principles and violating the state’s constitutional rights by making a last-minute discriminatory cut in Kerala’s borrowing limit, forcing the Left Democratic Front (LDF) to take to the streets to protest.
Addressing the LDF-led Satyagraha, Vijayan said the situation Kerala was facing “should never happen in any democratic country.”
The Kerala Chief Minister said, “What is happening in Kerala should not happen in any democratic country. The rulers of the Union Territory, who claim autocratic power, are arbitrarily and discriminatoryly violating our rights. These are constitutional rights, and we are forced to take to the streets to protect these rights.”
The Kerala Chief Minister alleged that the Center has cut the borrowing limit, threatening the state’s year-end finances.
He further said, “This is the situation in Kerala today. From January to March, the Central government cut the funds available for state use by more than half at the last minute. Kerala was entitled to funds worth Rs 12,000 crore. It is not possible to proceed on revenue alone; borrowing is also necessary, especially to meet year-end expenses. Out of the borrowing limit of Rs 12,000 crore, Rs 25,900 crore have been rejected without any justification. The matter does not end here. Under the centrally sponsored schemes implemented in the country, the state first uses its own funds.”
Chief Minister Vijayan further said that the Centre’s action was not just targeted at the state government, but was a broader attempt to weaken Kerala as a whole, which would affect all sections of the society.
He said, “These actions cannot be seen as targeting only the state government. They affect all sections of the public and are part of a policy that is crushing the entire state of Kerala. What is happening is part of a well-thought-out and well-planned strategy. The aim of the plan should be to take the state towards progress, but the central government is attempting to weaken and destroy Kerala.”
He further said, “Kerala is a state that has made contributions to the country of which we can be proud. The Central Government is trying to destroy our achievements in the health, education and welfare sectors. The Central Government has repeatedly raised questions as to why Kerala provides such a huge amount of welfare benefits. Kerala has refused to accept this thinking. Many schemes are launched with fanfare in the name of the Prime Minister, but Kerala has to face hurdles and rejection in return. falls “
The incident came amid a satyagraha by the LDF led by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Monday to protest against what the state government described as the Centre’s “anti-people policies” and continued financial discrimination against Kerala.
Kerala Revenue Minister K. Rajan accused the central government of imposing unprecedented restrictions that weaken the federal structure of the country. He said that the central government is imposing very stringent measures which should not be implemented in a federal system.
Rajan said, “The country has reached a stage where extremely draconian measures are being implemented, which should not be implemented under the federal system. In January, February and late March, all kinds of cuts, neglect of Kerala and even serious discrimination continued,” Rajan said.
He informed that after completing all the statutory procedures, the permitted borrowing limit of Kerala is Rs 12,000 crore. Of this, Rs 3,500 crore has already been deducted under the ‘Guarantee Reduction Fund’. Despite this, the Center issued a strict directive on December 17, soon after the local body elections, stating that Kerala cannot borrow Rs 5,900 crore from the balance limit, without citing any specific reason.
Rajan further said that neither the Kerala government nor the Union Finance Ministry has given any clarification regarding these restrictions.
He further said, “Now, after diluting all the borrowing rights of the state, the Central Government is preventing Kerala from borrowing about Rs 6,000 crore out of the Rs 12,000 crore that would have been available during January, February and March. What is the reason for this? No explanation has been given to either Kerala or the Union Finance Ministry. This clearly reflects the political objective of isolating Kerala, which the Central Government itself has not justified with rational arguments. Could.”