THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Senior CPM leader M A Baby has accused the Union government of neglecting Kerala in the Union budget. Inaugurating a protest march taken out by the LDF to the Raj Bhavan on Monday, Baby said the Centre has not addressed the demands raised by the state seeking support for the Vizhinjam project, expansion of Sabari railroad to Erumeli, and the Thiruvananthapuram and Kozhikode metro.
He alleged that the Centre has not kept aside viability gap fund for the Vizhinjam port project. “States cover 62% of the country’s expenses. But only 37.7% of the revenue reach the states, while the Centre receives 62.3% revenue,” he said, adding that the Union government policies are anti-federal in nature.
Referring to the ongoing agitation by ASHA workers, the CPM politburo member said that the Union government has not allocated sufficient funds for them. “They should protest against the Centre, not against the state government,” he said.
Senior leaders, including LDF convener T P Ramakrishnan, MLAs Kadakampally Surendran, D K Murali, O S Ambika and V Sasi, attended the march to support the cause. Prominent leaders including Pannian Raveendran, Mathew T Thomas, V Surendran Pillai and Mangode Radhakrishnan spoke at the event.