Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Monday said the Union budget carried a tale of neglect of Kerala, besides imposition of the unbearable burden through many of its proposals.
In an article released for publication here, Mr. Vijayan did not mince words in depicting Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s maiden budget as discriminatory towards Kerala. There was no meaningful allocation for the traditional industrial sectors such as coir, cashew, and bamboo, which had got less allocation when compared to last year’s budget proposals.
It turned away from Kerala’s demand for a minimum support price of ₹200 for rubber, besides ignoring the Spices Board and the Coconut Board.
One of the main demands of Kerala for permission to mobilize funds from the capital markets over and above its ceiling on borrowings to meet its commitments on rebuilding the State in the post-flood phase went unheeded.