Stephen Kayyar
Daijiworld Media Network – Kasargod
Kasargod, Feb 2: The state-level Development March (Uttar Zone Jatha) led by CPI(M) state secretary M V Govindan commenced from Kumbla in the Manjeshwar Assembly constituency on Sunday February 1. Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan formally flagged off the march.
The launch event was attended by CPI(M) Manjeshwar area secretary K R Jayanandan, district secretary K P Satheeshchandran, Uduma MLA C H Kunhambu, MLA E Chandrasekharan, former MP P Karunakaran, M V Balakrishnan Nair, Jayarajan, and M Rajagopal, among others.
The march will tour Kannur, Wayanad, Kozhikode, Malappuram and Palakkad districts and will conclude on February 16 at Tirur in Palakkad. The jatha will be accorded receptions at four locations in the district. On Sunday evening, a reception was held at Nullippady in the Kasargod Assembly constituency. On Monday, receptions will take place at Periyattadka in the Uduma constituency at 10 am, at Kotachery in Kanhangad at 3 pm, and at Kaalikadavu in Trikkaripur at 4 pm. The second day of the march will conclude at Payyannur at 5 pm.
CPI national executive committee member and MP P Santosh Kumar has been appointed as the jatha manager. The members of the march include K S Saleek (CPI-M), Mathew Kunnappally (Kerala Congress M), P P Divakaran (Indian Socialist Janata Dal), P M Suresh Babu (NCP), Manayath Chandran (RJD), Babu Gopinath (Congress S), Vadakkad Menachchan (Kerala Congress B), A J Joseph (Janadhipathya Kerala Congress), Qasim Irikkur (INL), and Nice Mathew (Kerala Congress Sakaria), among others.
Addressing the gathering after inaugurating the LDF jatha at Kumbla on Sunday evening, chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan alleged that the central government was showing gross neglect towards Kerala, raising questions over whether the state even figures on India’s map.
The chief minister strongly criticised the Union Budget presented by finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman, stating that it exposed the centre’s severe discrimination and apathy towards Kerala. He said the biggest crisis faced by the state was the centre’s continued neglect and accused the Union government of ignoring Kerala’s long-pending demands.
Vijayan remarked that the union finance minister appeared to have forgotten that Kerala exists on India’s map and demanded that Kerala’s Union ministers respond to this ‘grave neglect’. He pointed out that demands such as AIIMS, seven high-speed railway corridors, and a special package for the development of the Vizhinjam port had been completely ignored.
He said the Finance Commission’s rejection of the demand to increase the state’s share and its decision to retain the existing 41 percent share was a move that weakened federal principles.
Describing the budget as one entirely based on neo-liberal economic logic, Vijayan alleged that it aimed at enriching corporates while pushing ordinary people further into poverty. He said Kerala was not receiving its rightful share from the centre and accused the Union government of attempting to destroy the state’s financial foundation by deciding not to continue revenue deficit grants. He noted that grants had been slashed significantly, from Rs 2.2 lac crore in 2021 to Rs 1.4 lac crore now.
Kerala’s achievements in population control and domestic income growth justified a marginal increase in its tax share, which was the state’s rightful claim, he said. However, he expressed concern that despite denying grants, there had been no real increase in the overall share from the centre.
The chief minister warned that the centre’s move to take control of Kerala’s mineral resources was extremely dangerous. He alleged that budget announcements were paving the way for mining by private monopolies and that easing environmental clearance norms to speed up approvals was intended to favour the private sector. He recalled that the state budget had announced the establishment of a public sector mineral corridor connecting Vizhinjam, Chavara and Kochi, and said the centre’s move to hand over mineral resources to private monopolies was in complete contradiction to the state’s plans.
Vijayan further alleged that both the Congress and BJP governments had cheated Kerala by making promises such as a railway coach factory and failing to deliver, and said the current budget was proof of this betrayal.
Despite rising prices and inflation, he said cuts in food, health and fertiliser subsidies would devastate people’s lives. He also pointed out that allocations for the employment guarantee scheme had been reduced by tens of thousands of crores, which would destroy the rural employment sector. The centre, he said, was unwilling to ensure fair prices for agricultural produce or control imports that were harming Kerala.
The budget, which he alleged ignored central public sector undertakings such as FACT and Cochin Refinery, had also disappointed the tourism, education and industrial sectors. Vijayan claimed there was an understanding between the Congress and BJP and said voters would respond in the coming elections, adding that the BJP at the centre was continuing Congress policies.