LDF releases 'white paper of facts' showing 'growth' during its tenure in Kerala

The document stated that while the state’s total debt increased by 1.93 times during the UDF’s 2011-16 tenure, the LDF was able to reduce it by 1.86 times during 2016-21 and to 1.60 times in 2021-26.

Leader of Opposition Pinarayi Vijayan at the release of ‘White Paper of Facts,’ at AKG Centre for Research and Studies in Thiruvananthapuram. (Photo | BP Deepu, Express)

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Vehemently criticising the UDF government’s white paper by calling it a document manipulating even the usual proceedings, Opposition leader Pinarayi Vijayan released the ‘White Paper of Facts’ prepared by the AKG Centre for Research and Studies.

“While the state’s total debt increased by 1.93 times during the UDF’s 2011-16 tenure, the LDF was able to reduce it by 1.86 times during 2016-21 and to 1.60 in 2021-26.

The LDF was also able to double the state’s own-revenue during 2021-26,” he said after releasing the document, by handing over its first copy to CPM state secretary M V Govindan at the AKG Centre on Tuesday. Pointing out that the government’s white paper became the UDF’s political campaign tool, the Left’s document stated that even though the former tried to portray the state economy in a pathetic state, it ended up showcasing the improved financial status of the state.

While the state had an annual budget expenditure of Rs 1.6 lakh crore in the 2022-23 and 2023-24 financial years, Rs 1.73 lakh crore in 2024-25 and Rs 1.92 lakh crore in 2025-26, the same in the revised budget for this year has come up to a total of Rs 2.27 lakh crore. “Do these figures represent a dilapidated economy or an empowered one?” the Left’s document asks.

The document also reiterated the opposition’s earlier stance that the government had wrongly handed over secret documents of the state to a private group, and that the data was uploaded to AI platforms to craft this ‘factually incorrect’ document.

“The white paper ‘whitewashes’ the financial crunch exerted over the state by the Modi government, and does not mention anything about this,” the Alternate White Paper states.

While the state had a share of 3.83% in the 10th Finance Commission, it was slashed down to 1.925% in the 15th Commission. In addition to that, one lakh crore rupees was slashed from the rightful borrowing limit, which is not mentioned in the government’s white paper. All these, the ‘Alternate White Paper’ claims, underline the Left’s criticism that the report was created according to the interests of the UDF’s concurrent politics.