Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, Feb 2: The BJP leader and the union minister of state George Kurian’s advice that Kerala should declare itself a backward state to get higher budgetary allocations from the Centre and the state BJP president supporting the stand has fuelled a controversy with both the ruling CPM and the opposition Congress branding the BJP “anti-Kerala” and said the BJP’s objective was to make Kerala “poor and backward.”
Mr Kurian, who is from Kerala’s Kottayam district, is a Minister of State for Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying and for Minority Affairs in the third Narendra Modi government. He is a Rajya Sabha MP since September last year.
Mr Kurian’s remark drew sharp responses from Left leaders. CPM state secretary M V Govindan said the Centre wants Kerala to be backward, “but that will not happen”. He alleged that the BJP has an “anti-Kerala stand” and its leaders from the state share that outlook. “The objective of the BJP is to make Kerala poor and backward. They made several attempts to tighten their grip on the state. As all such attempts have failed, they are now trying to push Kerala backward by denying deserved allocations,” he alleged.
Mr Kurian’s comments came amid the Opposition’s charge that Budget 2025 had ignored Kerala, Union Minister George Kurian has said the southern state must declare that it is backward if it wants more funds from the Centre. Mr Kurian had said during an interaction with the media: “Allotment is for backward states. Declare Kerala backward. Say that Kerala does not have roads, good education, etc. If you say Kerala is behind other states in terms of education, infrastructure, and social welfare, then the (Finance) Commission will examine it and give a report to the central government. The central government will make a decision based on the report. It does not decide on its own.”
The BJP state president K Surendran defending his party colleague said on Sunday, “The exaggerated claim that Kerala is No 1 is not good for the state. Kerala has failed in presenting its backwardness in many sectors before the Union government.” Mr Kurian’s remark has intensified the row and the ruling Left has said the minister’s statement reflects the Centre’s “anti-Kerala” stand.
Shortly after the Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented her budget in the Lok Sabha on Saturday, the Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said it was a disappointing budget for the state. He said the Centre had ignored their request for funds to rebuild Wayanad, where landslides in July claimed more than 400 lives. The Budget also ignored the Vizhinjam Port in Kerala.
“We had requested a special package for Rs 24,000 crore besides a special Wayanad landslide package. Considering the national importance of the Vizhinjam Port, we had requested support for it too. But none of these have been considered,” he said.
“Kerala is being penalised for its gains in the education and other sectors. It is said that our state does not need more as we are already ahead in many sectors. But there are some areas where Kerala is lagging. But we get no support from the Union government to uplift these sectors,” he said. “Kerala has been sidelined badly in this Budget and this is unacceptable to us,” the Chief Minister said.
Veteran CPM leader EP Jayarajan said the people of Kerala should come forward and protest against the Union minister’s statement. The CPI(M) state secretary M V Govindan said Kurian should tender an apology to Kerala. The BJP leaders in Kerala want to see it as an impoverished state. The BJP has failed in its attempts to win over Kerala and now the party wants to make it a totally poor state. The BJP has adopted an anti-Kerala stand,” he said. Several CPI(M) leaders and ministers in the Left government’s Cabinet also came out against Kurian’s remarks.
Senior Congress legislator and Opposition Leader V D Satheesan said the Union minister’s statement is an insult to Kerala. “He has no right to continue as a minister. He should tender an apology after retracting the statement. The Budget has no reference to Kerala. When we are raising the issue as a political one, the minister has resorted to insulting the entire state. What role has the BJP and Sangh Parivar played in the various achievements of the state? The Sangh Parivar wants to abolish the achievements the state has made over the years. Minister Kurian’s words reflect the desire of the Sangh Parivar,” said Satheesan.
