THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Hiking the fuel cess was a well-calculated and coordinated gambit by the Finance Minister and the Left Democratic Front(LDF). It had anticipated the opposition and the political fallout of the decision to hike the fuel cess by Rs 2 in the state budget.
A CPM minister told TNIE that the ramifications of the hike were anticipated and Finance Minister K N Balagopal had discussed the proposal with Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan.CPM had also discussed the hike with CPI state secretary Kanam Rajendran and other left front leaders. Balagopal had to augment tax and non-tax revenue to the maximum extent given that the fiscal constraints in 2023-2024 will be more than that of the current year. It is reported that the party had sought the opinion of the cadres by explaining the situation in which the government was forced to hike the fuel cess. “The response from the party and the MLAs were positive,” a CPM source said.
“The MLAs asked the government not to kneel before the opposition demand to withdraw the cess hike. The government, the CPM, and the LDF are confident and that it can explain it to the public and take them into confidence”, the source added. The party is confident from the feedback it got from the ground level that more people are aware of the state’s financial crisis and the Union government’s role in it. The CPM’s two-day state committee starting on Thursday will also discuss the budget proposals in detail.
Jayarajan row
The controversial E P Jayarajan row is expected to come up at the state committee meeting on Thursday. The two-day meeting is likely to consider the allegations raised by P Jayarajan against E P Jayarajan’s family members on unaccounted wealth. E P Jayarajan who was absent when P Jayarajan raised the allegations is likely to explain his side of the story at the meeting.