Kerala Budget Aims at Wholesale Privatisation, Selling State Assets to Corporates, Alleges CPI(M)

CPI(M) state secretary M V Govindan on Saturday alleged that the maiden budget presented by the UDF government in Kerala was a blueprint for wholesale privatisation and an attempt to hand over public assets and natural resources to corporates.

Addressing a press conference here, Govindan said Chief Minister V D Satheesan, who describes himself as a Nehruvian socialist, was using the budget to facilitate the closure of public sector undertakings and transfer their assets to private entities.

His budget speech was a precursor to wholesale privatisation in the state, he alleged.

"Satheesan claims to be a Nehruvian socialist, but the Budget reflects policies that are completely contrary to Nehru's ideals. The government is attempting to mobilise resources through privatisation," Govindan alleged.

The CPI(M) leader claimed that the government's emphasis on private capital reflected a larger agenda to "sell Kerala" and hand over the state's mineral wealth and land resources to corporate interests.

He alleged that the proposed 'Vision Samudra' project was part of efforts to facilitate private participation in the mining of rare earth minerals, a sector that had so far remained under public control.

Govindan also criticised the proposal to create a land bank, alleging that it was intended to make land available to corporate groups. He said Kerala had a long history of land reforms that benefited farmers, landless people and Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribes and accused the government of moving away from those principles.

The CPI(M) leader further alleged that the budget was largely a collection of announcements without clarity on implementation and funding.

"The projects announced in the budget will remain on paper. Foundations may be laid, but nothing will be completed," he claimed.

Govindan also accused the Congress-led government of failing to effectively address issues in the health sector at a time when the state was witnessing the spread of communicable diseases.

He alleged that a dispute involving senior health department officials had affected the functioning of the Directorate of Health Services (DHS), leading to the disruption of important review meetings.

Referring to the controversy surrounding the transfer of Dr K J Reena from the post of Director of Health Services (DHS) and the subsequent developments, Govindan claimed the government lacked clarity on resolving the issue despite the prevailing public health concerns.

He also urged the government to intervene urgently and ensure that administrative disputes do not affect public health management.