Thiruvananthapuram, February 19 Kerala Minister K N Balagopal strongly criticised Leader of the Opposition V D Satheesan on Thursday over his repeated remarks on the state's financial condition, saying "they were far from facts and intended to mislead the public."
In a Facebook post, the state finance minister took issue with Satheesan's claim that "the only place in Kerala where a cat can now give birth is the treasury," a phrase used by the opposition leader to describe what he called a severe cash crunch in the state.
"A person like the Leader of the Opposition, who occupies a responsible position, is continuously making statements that are contrary to facts," Balagopal said, adding that if there were "a Nobel Prize for lying, it should be awarded to him."
The finance minister said Satheesan frequently makes "factually incorrect statements" about various departments, but focuses most on the finance department.
He alleged that the Congress-led UDF boycotted the Assembly's budget session, fearing its claims would be exposed if debated.
"Instead of speaking in the Assembly, he believes he can stand outside with a microphone, tell lies and make people believe them," Balagopal said.
Rejecting the opposition's claims, Balagopal said that, for the first time in Kerala's history, the state's annual treasury expenditure is set to cross Rs 2 lakh crore in the current financial year.
"The total expenditure in 2025–26 will exceed Rs 2 lakh crore," he said.
He pointed out that the average annual spending of the present government stands at Rs 1.72 lakh crore, compared to Rs 70,000 crore during the Oommen Chandy government and Rs 1.15 lakh crore during the first Pinarayi Vijayan government.
Under welfare pensions alone, the government has spent Rs 50,000 crore so far, he said.
Balagopal also said Kerala’s debt has declined from nearly 39 per cent of GSDP to below 34 per cent. “These facts are known to the Leader of the Opposition,” he said, accusing him of creating a "smokescreen of lies" to avoid acknowledging the government's performance.
“In any case,” Balagopal remarked sarcastically, “the opposition leader’s cats are fortunate, living in a treasury handling Rs 2 lakh crore.”
Meanwhile, leading the Congress-led UDF’s ongoing ‘Puthuyuga Yatra’ from Kasaragod to Thiruvananthapuram, Satheesan has been alleging that the only place in Kerala where a cat can now give birth is the treasury.
He had said that at a time when “a cat is lying in the treasury after giving birth,” the budget recently presented by the finance minister was a political announcement aimed at elections.
“There has never been a government in history that has destroyed Kerala’s economy to this extent,” he had alleged.