THRISSUR: Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday hit out at the LDF alleging that the Left government’s rule in Kerala for the past 10 years has pushed the state into a severe economic crisis.
She was speaking at an interactive session ‘Vikasit Thrissur’ organised as a part of election campaign for the NDA candidate in Thrissur, Padmaja Venugopal.
“West Bengal, Tripura, and Kerala — three states that were dominated by Left ideologies — are nowhere near the country’s development journey. People of Tripura changed their thinking and the transformation has begun to reach the people there,” she said.
Nirmala denied the allegations of Centre not giving enough funds to Kerala, which is stalling the development works here. She said that since 2014, Kerala received four to six times more funds than during the UPA government’s period.
“The slogan ‘Kerala is Number One’ is repeatedly being used by the state government to mislead ordinary people who are unaware of the development happening in other states. In reality, Kerala ranks 15th among 18 large states in the country.”
In her speech, the minister highlighted the corruption allegations against the state government. She confirmed that investigation is still going on into the case related to gold smuggling through diplomatic channel and the involvement of CM’s office in it.
“When it comes to corruption, both LDF and UDF are the same. People in Kerala have realised it and put their hopes on the NDA. The NDA has come up with a ‘Vikasit Keralam’ plan focusing on corruption -free, impartial developed state assuring social security to all citizens.”