Kerala's Economic Claims Under Scrutiny: A Political Tug-of-War

V D Satheesan, Opposition Leader in the Kerala Assembly, criticized the Kerala government for allegedly inflating industrial growth figures. This statement followed an article by MP Shashi Tharoor praising Kerala's entrepreneurial growth. Satheesan claims the data manipulation raises questions about Kerala's Ease of Doing Business rankings and startup ecosystem growth.

The Leader of Opposition in the Kerala Assembly, V D Satheesan, launched a scathing critique against the Kerala government on Monday, alleging it has inflated industrial growth figures and manipulated data.

Responding to media queries, Satheesan refuted claims of Kerala's top ranking in the Ease of Doing Business index, pointing out that the World Bank had stopped using the index in 2021 due to data reliability issues.

The controversy unfolded after Congress MP Shashi Tharoor praised Kerala's entrepreneurial progress under the ruling LDF government in a newspaper article, a stance that drew both support from the CPI(M) and skepticism from within his party.

Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan criticized the Congress-led UDF, accusing them of spreading misinformation about Kerala, a claim partially countered by Satheesan, who questioned the state's actual number of GST registrations for new enterprises.

Satheesan also pinpointed contradictions in the state's claimed 254% growth in the startup ecosystem, suggesting it was skewed by comparing data from the pandemic period when business activities were minimal.

He compared Kerala unfavorably to neighboring states on GDP growth, accusing the Left of stalling development projects initiated under the UDF regime.

The Congress leader also reiterated his party's readiness to support initiatives that would transform Kerala into an industrially friendly state.

(With inputs from agencies.)