Leader of the Opposition Pinarayi Vijayan on Tuesday rejected the United Democratic Front (UDF) government’s claim that Kerala is facing a debt crisis.
Contrary to the UDF’s allegations, he also asserted that public debt grew at a slower pace during the Left Democratic Front (LDF)’s decade-long tenure than during the previous UDF government’s rule.
Speaking after releasing the ‘White Paper of Facts’ prepared by the AKG Centre for Research and Studies, and handing over its first copy to CPI(M) State secretary M.V. Govindan, Mr. Vijayan accused the UDF administration of deliberately distorting financial data to mislead the public.
He added the party publication was intended to expose the “factual inaccuracies” in the “Kerala’s Fiscal Health: A Status Report,” the White Paper that was recently tabled by the government in the Assembly.
According to the former Chief Minister, the government’s narrative that the LDF had left Kerala burdened with “uncontrolled debt” was contrary to official figures. The State’s debt, he claimed, increased 1.93 times during the UDF government’s tenure from 2011 to 2016, whereas the increase came down to 1.86 times during the first LDF government’s term between 2016 and 2021 and further declined to 1.6 times during the 2021-26 period.
He also disputed the government’s portrayal of the State’s debt burden by citing the debt-to-income ratio. While the ratio had risen to nearly 38% during the COVID-19 pandemic, it subsequently declined to around 34%, he said. The government omitted such figures, while repeatedly highlighting that the State’s total debt has crossed ₹5 lakh crore, he alleged.
The CPI(M) leader also rejected allegations of financial mismanagement and poor tax administration during the LDF regime. He said nearly 60% of Kerala’s revenue expenditure was met through the State’s own revenue resources, compared with the national average of less than 50%. Moreover, the State’s own tax revenue doubled over the past five years despite structural changes in the Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime and certain national-level policies that adversely affected Kerala’s revenues.
Referring to allegations that the previous LDF government had left behind arrears exceeding ₹1 lakh crore, Mr. Vijayan said the present government had failed to produce data that supported the claim. He also contended that routine financial mechanisms such as bill discounting hade been misrepresented to inflate figures.
He was also critical of the UDF government’s approach towards the public sector. He alleged that the government sought to portray public sector enterprises as dispensable, despite acknowledging in its own White Paper that the number of profit-making PSUs had increased.
Former Finance Minister K.N. Balagopal and CPI(M) Thiruvananthapuram district secretary V. Joy participated in the programme.
Published - July 14, 2026 07:25 pm IST