Kerala left out: No budget boost for state’s development or tourism

The first budget postmdashthe General Elections has left people from Gods Own Country disappointed as there was neither any mention of Kerala nor any fund allocated for any infrastructure or tourism development This is shocking as the State voted for change in a few pockets for the Bhartiya Janata Party BJP thus providing it a foothold in the stateThe State had never voted for the central ruling party before but did so for the first time with a Christian majority Thrissur Lok Sabha constituency where actor Suresh Gopi stomped to a stunning victory thus making the partyrsquos Kerala debut in the Lok SabhaPM Narendra Modi had said during the election campaign that lsquoKerala isclose to my heartrsquo All that socalled closeness and a resounding victory with a vote account opening for the BJP has resulted in naught in the annual Budget presented by Union Finance Minister Nirmala SeetharamanMG Radhakrishnan Ex journalistAnnie Raja of CPIM who contested from Wayand shed light on the State not getting a mention in the Budget ldquoThe BJP is keen to save its own government in the centre and hence gave special packages to Andhra Rs 15000 crores and Bihar Rs 26000 croresrdquoThe Telugu Desam Party TDP led by N Chandrababu Naidu and the Janata Dal United JDU led by Nitish Kumar have lent their support to the National Democratic Alliance NDA and have been handsomely rewarded in the Budget with multiple infrastructure projectsExperts in Kerala say that BJP has proved it again that it is not concerned with the welfare of the people of Kerala and that all their promises have remained hollowPolitical pundits warn that the step motherly treatment given to the State will rebound for the BJP in the coming panchayat election and the 2026 state electionBJP trying to save its governmentldquoThe very fact that special packages have been provided to Andhra Pradesh and Bihar in this budget is evident that BJP is keen to please its allies in Andhra Pradesh and Bihar And for states like Kerala which have no mention or financial package allocated in the union budget it is itself evident that the central leadership of BJP are making hollow promises during election to lure the common man by talking about lsquosab ka saat sab ka vikas However in reality they are only concerned about their party BJP vikas and not the growth of common manrdquo said Annie Raja the Communist Party of India CPI candidate who contested the Loksabha election from Wayand district of KeralaWayanad tribals deserve upliftmentAnnie Raja added ldquoIt is unfortunate that huge package is allocated to Bihar for upliftment of backward areas especially for the tribal welfare but Keralarsquos Wayand too is one of the most backward tribal areas awaiting upliftment for decades and they too deserve upliftment but nothing came there way The Central leadership of BJP should use public funds for welfare of all States rather than handpicking their alliance partners which is nothing but showcasing open favouritism and a political gimmickrdquo She continued ldquoSecondly the union budget will adversely impact BJPrsquos cine star leader from Thrissur Suresh Gopi who had been repeatedly boasting about infrastructural development and promoting tourism in Kerala Moreover PM Modi echoed similar views BJPrsquos failure to allocate budgetary provisions to Kerala in itself exposes the partyrsquos liesrdquo Irrigation and Flood mitigationSpecial announcement was made in the Union budget for providing assistance for flood management and related projects in Assam Sikkim and UttarakhandldquoKerala too has faced similar issues in the past and is even now grappling through extreme weather conditions especially during monsoon nearly causing flash flood like situation irrespective of all difficulties there is no support or mention about any financial assistance to Kerala in the Budgetrdquo said Annie RajaKerala people voted for development but got nothingMG Radhakrishnan political analyst from Thiruvananthapuram Kerala said ldquoThe budget did not offer any allocation to the State Infact last week Suresh Gopi ndash the newly elected State Minister from Kerala ndash had confidently announced that Kerala would lsquoleast be getting the much awaited All India Institute of Medical Science AIIMSrsquo This clearly shows that Kerala has always been given a step motherly treatment despite a BJP part man making it to Parliament They BJP leaders forgot that people of Kerala were looking for a change and believed every poll promise made by none other than the Prime Minister himself during his multiple visits to Kerala and also by Suresh GopirdquoState Finance Minister had been to DelhiK N Balagopal Kerala State Finance Minister had visited Delhi and had even submitted a 23 to 25 points memorandum to Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman a few days prior to the budget He had requested for fund allocations said RadhakrishananLong way to goBJP still has a long way to go for it has not established any credibility as an alternative to the LDF or the UDFFor the first time the Christians in Thrissur who would otherwise cast their votes to Congress also voted for BJP They pinned their hopes on the long pending demand for Metro connectivity Aluwa to Thrissur and infrastructure development to enable job opportunities in the constituency Given the no show for Kerala in the first Budget of the newly elected coalition government it will not be easy for people to once again trust BJP or its leadersThe BJP high command should not forget that the Kerala Panchayat Election is due in 2025 and with the State election following a year later And any failure to execute the promises made will prove to be a debacle for BJP which opened its account in the state since coming to power in 2014 pointed out RadhakrishnanWhat ails KeralaKerala is a plantation economy and is dependent on international prices Kerala has to get into new areas for development For the social economy the State has to earn more money The tax rates are high and the State has collected the money where it can Most of the Public sector undertakings are at a loss But because of leftofcentre political thinking it wants to continue In terms of ideas to bail out Keralarsquos weak programs outofthebox ideas are needed Higher education numbers are high but quality is lackingKerala has to find solutions for its issues as politically it is fragmented he concludedOther sideA senior BJP party official from Thrissur down played the situation stating ldquoIt is PM Modirsquos vision of lsquoSabka Saath Sab Ka Visarsquo and both Bihar and Andhra Pradesh have proved there alliance by supporting BJP in forming the government so they need to be suitably rewarded and hence the huge funds were allocated to them in the budget Moreover Bihar is one of the most backward states in the country and the fund allocation was done with an intent to uplift backward areas of Bihar which was always left in the lurch However this does not mean nothing will be coming to Kerala And if congress and CPI feel that they would use this as a trump card to pounce on Suresh Gopi for his failure then they are mistaken We must understand that the panchayat election will happen in 2025 and subsequently the State election in 2026 and the possibility of fund allocations for Kerala from the centre cannot be ruled out in the near futurerdquoRs 15000 crBudget allocated to APRs 26000 crBudget allocated to Bihar