Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala's state finance minister K N Balagopal said on Friday that the state's economic troubles were caused by the central government's unfavourable policy decisions.
During a press conference with the media on the last day of the fiscal year 2022–2023, Balagopal claimed that the policies of the Centre had caused a shortage of Rs. 40,000 crores.
He also said that despite the adverse situations, Kerala managed to perform well in terms of income and expenditure
"Everything including salary, pension and loan repayment was paid correctly. The project cost of local bodies is over 96 per cent. Many panchayats have spent 100 per cent of the fund allotted, and the treasuries functioned without any hitch," Mr Balagopal said.
He said judicious financial management helped the state to perform well despite constraints.
"Due to the unfavourable policy measures of the Union government, Kerala experienced huge economic hardships. There was a shortfall of Rs 40,000 crore this financial year due to Centre's policies," he said.
The minister said the opposition parties should also raise their voice for Kerala.
"We took a stern stand in (Congress leader) Rahul Gandhi's issue in Parliament. Our stand is to protect democracy and raise our voices when it's in danger. Unfortunately, Kerala's opposition is not raising their voice in favour of the state," he said.
When asked about UDF observing the black day on April 1 to protest against the fuel cess coming into force, he said it is a political protest.
"It's a political move by the opposition. I hope they also raise the issue of the high price of LPG in the country. They consider the Left government as their main enemy. The people are watching," Balagopal said.
The finance minister said there was an increase of Rs 12,000 crore in the state's own tax revenue.
He said there was an increase of around Rs 23,000 crore in the tax collected by it on its own in the last two years.
With PTI inputs