Thiruvananthapuram, April 3 – A sharp exchange of words erupted between Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and his Telangana counterpart Revanth Reddy on Friday, with the former launching a detailed rebuttal to remarks made by the latter during his campaign tour in the state.
Reddy, who has garnered significant support in Kerala with his fiery speeches, including using a popular dialogue associated with Malayalam superstar Mohanlal, had criticized the Vijayan government, alleging corruption and governance failures.
Responding through a strongly worded Facebook post, Vijayan accused the Telangana Chief Minister of "misleading himself" and attempting to "demean Kerala".
Vijayan countered the allegations by highlighting Kerala's performance across key social indicators.
He pointed out that Kerala ranks first in the NITI Aayog Sustainable Development Index (2023–24) with 79 points, while Telangana stands sixth.
He also emphasized that Kerala has the lowest poverty rate in the country at 0.55 per cent, compared to Telangana's 5.88 per cent, and is on track to eliminate extreme poverty entirely by the end of 2025.
The Chief Minister further highlighted Kerala's achievements in literacy and healthcare, noting a literacy rate of 95.3 per cent compared to Telangana's 76.9 per cent, and an Infant Mortality Rate of just 5 per 1,000 births, lower even than that of the United States.
He added that Kerala's robust public health system enables its citizens to live 5 to 7 years longer than the national average.
Taking a swipe at Reddy's criticism, Vijayan remarked that instead of spending heavily on political campaigns in Kerala, the Telangana leader should focus on addressing poverty and improving literacy back home.
He also termed it "political hypocrisy" that a Telangana delegation had earlier visited Thiruvananthapuram to study Kerala's 'Ente Bhoomi' digital land records system, even as its Chief Minister now derides the state.
Vijayan also rejected allegations of collusion with the Centre, accusing the Congress of acting as a "B team" of the BJP by failing to oppose policies that "financially constrain Kerala".
In a pointed conclusion, Vijayan asserted that Kerala has little to learn from a government where salaries and pensions are reportedly delayed, instead inviting Reddy to study Kerala's welfare model firsthand.