Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, his Cabinet colleagues, MLAs and leaders of the ruling Left Democratic Front on Monday staged a sit-in at the Martyrs’ Column in the state capital in protest against various financial restrictions allegedly imposed on the state by the Union government.
Addressing the day-long agitation, Vijayan alleged the Union government was exploring ways to financially strangle the state. “Many of Kerala’s constitutional rights as a state in this country are being taken away. This is an extraordinary situation in which we are forced to protest to safeguard our rights, which are being snatched away by rulers (at the Centre), who think that they have excessive power,” the Chief Minister said.
Referring to the restrictions on funds, Vijayan said the Union government has slashed more than half of the funds that Kerala is entitled to in the last quarter of the financial year. “For the next three-month period, Kerala was entitled to get Rs 12,000 crore from the Centre. Apart from the state’s own revenue, this loan from the Centre would have helped the state meet various expenditures in the last quarter of the fiscal year. An amount of Rs 5,900 crore has been denied without any justification,” he said.
“We are demanding what is rightfully owed to us, not any handout from the Union government. Kerala stands firm in its resolve and will resist every attempt to subvert states’ constitutional rights,” he said.
In February 2024, the state Cabinet, led by Vijayan, had staged a protest at Jantar Mantar in Delhi to protest the “Union government’s neglect of the state”.
