Centre showing 'vengeful attitude' towards Left govt in Kerala: Pinarayi Vijayan

However, the Centre is acting with vengeance towards Kerala, Vijayan said.He said even when the state faced back-to-back natural disasters, the BJP government refused to help in the manner it was supposed to do.We faced the 2018 floods, 2019 monsoon, the COVID pandemic.

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Tuesday attacked the BJP-led NDA government over the slashing of borrowal limit of the state and said the Union government was showing a ''vengeful attitude'' towards the Left government.

Addressing the Non-Gazetted Officers (NGO) Union conference here, Vijayan also hit out at the opposition Congress in Kerala and said despite witnessing the issues faced by the state due to the policies of the BJP, they were not ready to utter a word against the Centre. According to the state government, there was a reduction in Kerala's borrowing limits and that it was ''part of the Union government's political vendetta''.

''Our state can normally borrow 3.5 per cent of the GDP. The Union government has given permission for that. This financial year, our state expects a GSDP of Rs 11,70,000 crore. That means we can borrow Rs 33,420 crore. Based on this calculation, we prepare our annual budget and plan other development projects. However, the Centre is acting with vengeance towards Kerala,'' Vijayan said.

He said even when the state faced back-to-back natural disasters, the BJP government refused to help in the manner it was supposed to do.

''We faced the 2018 floods, 2019 monsoon, the COVID pandemic. Before all these, we had Ockhi and Nipah. All these were unbearable for our state. The flood destroyed the entire state. The whole world was wondering how we overcame the disaster and rebuilt ourselves. We did it because of our unity,'' Vijayan said.

The Left leader claimed that the BJP government was using the state's achievements in various sectors including health, education among others, as an excuse to reduce the state government's tax share and funding. ''In fact our achievements should be a reason to give us more funds,'' he added.

Vijayan said the Congress leaders were not criticising the anti-Kerala policies of the BJP and were in fact supporting them.

''The Opposition Congress says they are studying the matter. They are not ready to raise their voice against the Union government or the BJP. By not opposing the BJP's policies, the UDF is implicitly supporting them,'' he said.

The Chief Minister asked the Congress to think about the future of Kerala and urged them to stand together to fight against the anti-state policies of the Central government.