Responding to allegations of the Congress on Kerala’s high debt, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has said that the State’s debt is lower than the Congress-ruled Rajasthan and the BJP-ruled Uttar Pradesh. The Opposition is building a house of cards based on lies, he said.
Addressing a ‘meet-the-press’ organised at the Kannur Press Club on Sunday, he said that as per Reserve Bank of India figures, Kerala’s debt was 31.2% of the GDP for the financial year 2019-20.
In Rajasthan, it was 33.1%, in Punjab, 40.3%, in Uttar Pradesh, 34%, in West Bengal 37.1% and in Bihar, 31.9%. Kerala’s debt was quite low when compared to these States. “People will reject the propaganda that Kerala is in a debt trap,” he said.
Response to power deal
Countering the allegation raised by the Leader of the Opposition that the KSEB had cost the exchequer ₹1,000 crore by signing an agreement to purchase wind power at ₹2.80 a unit, he said the price was much lower than that bought by the Congress-ruled Rajasthan or Punjab governments.
He said Punjab purchased wind power at ₹5.76 and solar power at ₹7.25, while Rajasthan bought power for ₹5.02 and solar power for ₹4.20 a unit. “Will the Leader of the Opposition ask the Punjab and Rajasthan governments to cancel those deals,” he asked.
He said the previous UDF government had entered into 11 long-term agreements for purchasing 1,585 MW power at ₹3.91 to ₹5.42 a unit. By Mr. Chennithala’s yardstick, the State would have incurred huge losses via such agreements, he said.
Many challenges
Over the past five years, Kerala had to overcome many challenges, including the hurdles put up by the Union government. The Opposition had sought to undermine the State’s survival efforts. There was never a good word from the UDF or the BJP, he said.
“Within the limited jurisdiction of a State, the LDF has proved that an alternative policy is possible. The people have rejected the politics of the UDF and embraced that of the LDF. The UDF believes that it can crush the LDF by teaming up with the BJP and the Jamaat-e-Islami. They will face a severe setback at the polls,” he said.
He appealed to Keralites to guard secularism to protect the State.
