THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: In politics, subtlety is of paramount significance. Nobody knows that better than V D Satheesan. On his big day in the assembly, the chief minister who also holds the finance portfolio sought to play down political gamesmanship. He was seen treading the path of intricate financial wisdom, often juggling complex equations of income and expenditure, while maintaining the sanity of an accomplished politician. Yet the speech wasn’t completely devoid of politics as it reserved criticism for his predecessors, albeit in the form of oblique references.
In a marked difference from budget speeches of the past decade, Satheesan chose not to go on the political offensive — either to take on the opposition Left or to blame the BJP-led Centre — at least in portions that he read out in the House. Listing out his proposals for what he termed a “new age Kerala” even while facing so-called ‘colossal economic challenges’, Satheesan preferred not to launch direct attacks on his predecessor.
Banking heavily on the White Paper that, according to him, exposes the huge liabilities that his government inherited, Satheesan seemed more keen on talking finance. Even in his political posturing, he made it a point to weave it with matters of financial prudence — like the mention of the LDF government erroneously projecting an inflated surplus of `20,500 crore as central grants.
The only instance when he decided to let the politician in him speak out was when referring to KIIFB. Accusing the Left of artificially inflating plan expenditure without actually enhancing the outlay, he said, “The previous government surreptitiously conflated KIIFB and select PSU metrics into actual plan figures, bypassing formal budget estimates.”
Similarly, the budget speech was wholly devoid of criticism against the Centre, except for a minor remark over weakening of MGNREGA scheme. The lack of Centre-bashing, as seen in the past, invited the wrath of the Opposition, which lashed out at the CM for being mum on central neglect. Satheesan however brushed it aside as he felt the ‘budget should not be a tool for politicking.’
With everyone keenly watching how the UDF government’s politics would pan out when it comes to past proposals, Satheesan preferred the silent treatment. The subtlety was acutely reflected when it came to revamping the Oommen Chandy government’s NPS scheme to replace the last government’s assured pension scheme.
His media briefing, however, was a different affair. Unleashing a tirade at the LDF and Pinarayi Vijayan, over what he termed ‘outdated and clichéd Left jargons that created many slavish followers’, he claimed he would prefer not to indulge in such practices while spearheading a “new age Kerala.”