Opposition Leader V.D. Satheesan slammed the budget announced by the ruling LDF
| Photo Credit: THULASI KAKKAT
The Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) Opposition in Kerala termed the 2026-27 Budget on Thursday an “interim political document stuffed with hyperbole and airy populist promises to hoodwink voters” and boost its re-election chances in the upcoming Assembly elections.
Leader of the Opposition V.D. Satheesan termed the Budget “an inconsequential exercise in smoke and mirrors, projecting a chimera of a fiscally healthy welfare State.” He said the Left Democratic Front (LDF) “political manifesto feigned populist, pro-development and welfare to dupe the electorate.”
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Mr. Satheesan challenged the government to conduct a performance audit of the LDF 2025-26 Budget and publish a White Paper. He said the current “interim Budget lacked credibility like its predecessors”, and that “75% of LDF’s budgetary promises remain on paper.”
Mr. Satheesan said Kerala’s finances had “grievously haemorrhaged” under a decade of LDF rule. “The revenue deficit has worsened. The government has diverted funds, including from workers’ welfare boards, and resorted to heavy borrowing to meet day-to-day expenditures, including salaries, pensions, and social welfare doles,” he said.
Mr. Satheesan said the State’s coffers are dry due to poor fiscal planning and shoddy tax administration. “The LDF’s tax administration has dismally failed the people. Being a consumer State, Kerala pays the highest end-of-the-sales-point tax on consumer goods. Optimally, Kerala should have been the top beneficiary under the GST regime. However, the State’s GST share has dwindled over the years”, he added.
‘Public debt skyrocketing’
“Kerala’s public debt is skyrocketing. Inflation is spiralling upward. The government has resorted to firefighting by drastically cutting spending, resulting in reduced investment in health care, education, infrastructure, social welfare and public services. The government has not honoured Karunya Health Insurance claims estimated at more than ₹1,200 crore”, he said.
Mr. Satheesan said the government has limited treasury withdrawals to less than ₹10 lakh at a time since August. “The prevalent economic austerity has forced the government to reduce public expenditure”, he said.
Mr. Satheesan said the government lacked funds to mitigate seller inflation through market intervention by agencies such as Supplyco. “Suppliers shun Supplyco, which has no money to redeem its debts, further exacerbating the cost of living crisis”, he said.
Mr. Satheesan said the Budget phrase “new normal” unintentionally revealed the government’s election-year political gambit.
“LDF’s Budget promises big but delivers little. It has repeatedly resorted to slashing departmental Budgets and cutting welfare programme funding to balance the books. For one, the government slashed allocations for the Scheduled Caste/Scheduled Tribe development by ₹612 crore”, he said. The government allocated ₹100 crore for human-wildlife conflict mitigation. However, the administration could spend less than 42% of the allocated funds”, he said.
Mr. Satheesan said the LDF’s “politicised Budget” sought to mollify government employees and scheme workers by promising big, including the payment of dearness allowance (DA) arrears, the institution of a pay revision commission, and a hike in honorariums to conjure a positive voter mood. “The LDF knows the UDF government would have to bear the burden of the financial mess it has created,” he said.
Published – January 29, 2026 01:51 pm IST
