Tharoor wondered why Kerala was not mentioned anywhere in Nirmala Sitharaman’s speech, pointing out that the state has contributed significantly to India’s growth story.
“A disturbing sense of deja vu pervades the FM’s speech today. For a state that contributes so powerfully to the country’s foreign exchange reserves, skilled workforce and soft power, Kerala seems completely invisible in the Centre’s budget vision. A ‘budget of the invisible Kerala’ in an election year is a message in itself,” he tweeted.
Expressing disappointment with both the Pinarayi Vijayan government and the Centre, Tharoor said the Malayali are caught between a Center “indifferent to our pain and a state government in denial of its own fiscal profligacy”.
“As the Member of Parliament for the capital of Kerala, I see that our state budget is built on a central fund fantasy that the current Union Budget has explicitly failed to deliver,” he further wrote.
Expressing his disappointment, Tharoor called for an alternative that “commands respect in Delhi and delivers development in Kerala.”
Earlier, Tharoor said he had hoped the Center would fulfill its promises to Kerala, including setting up an AIIMS, in the Union Budget and stressed the need to tackle coastal erosion on a ‘war footing’.
Tharoor wondered why, when even an inch of land lost to China triggers discussions of ‘war’ and ‘threats to national security’, the loss of land along the coast, he alleged, is not receiving the same attention.
– Ends
Tune in
#Tharoor #calls #Invisible #Kerala #hashtag #Budget #skips #southern #state