The only guarantee that the Budget presented by Chief Minister V.D. Satheesan ensures is stunted development, Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] Central Committee member and former Finance Minister T.M. Thomas Isaac has said. Addressing a press conference here, he said that the Budget has a long wish list, but does not have enough money allocated to make this a reality.

“Much of the Budget is filled with token provisioning of money. Big projects have got insufficient allocation. The Oommen Chandy insurance scheme with a promise of ₹25 lakh gets a total ₹10 crore allocation while the allocation for two new medical colleges is just ₹100 crore,” he said.

He said that Mr. Satheesan, who had talked at length about resource mobilisation in his podcasts, does not have any such measures spelled out in the Budget. The Left Democratic Front (LDF) government had created a category of horti-wine with lower taxes to promote small farmers. The Budget has now expanded this category to include corporate liquor manufactures also, alleged Dr. Isaac.

He also refuted Mr. Satheesan’s claim that the LDF had cut down on allocations for SC-ST categories. Regarding Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board (KIIFB), he accused the Chief Minister of attempting to destroy the credibility of a financial institution which is implementing projects worth ₹1 lakh crore all across Kerala.