THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Opposition UDF has strongly criticised the state budget, calling it a reflection of governance failure, and accused the government of turning a financial statement into a political manifesto ahead of elections.
Opposition Leader V D Satheesan alleged that the budget was filled with promises that had remained unfulfilled for the past decade. “They are announcing things that have not been done in 10 years. These claims of change are nothing but attempts to mislead people,” he said.
“The real budget will be the one presented by the next UDF government. The current provisions are designed only to burden the incoming administration,” he added. AICC general secretary K C Venugopal said, “As the government realises that it cannot implement any of the promises, it has included as many hollow promises as it could.”
BJP flays budget, refutes charges of slashed Central assistance
T’Puram:The BJP has flayed state budget, calling it more of an “election campaign speech” than a fiscal document. BJP state president Rajeev Chandrasekhar said the LDF, that was busy blocking Union government schemes from reaching the people for the past 10 years, was suddenly crying foul over slashed Central allocations as the assembly election was fast approaching. “The LDF government has pocketed Central schemes and presented them as its own in the state budget. The Pinarayi Viayan government is cheating people of Kerala by making false promises in the face of an empty state exchequer,” he said.
CSL events for differently abled in focus
Kochi: The state budget has enhanced the allocation for activities under the sports and youth affairs department by 51.90%, with the outlay increasing to Rs 220.86 crore. The College Sports League, introduced by the government last year, has received special consideration as the finance minister set aside Rs 2 crore for the conduct of the event.
The College Sports League is designed to identify and nurture young talent at the college level with a long-term vision to equip athletes to qualify for the 2036 Olympics Games, which is expected to be hosted by India. “It is a first-of-its-kind initiative in the country.
Recently, the central government too recognised the league and has set aside Rs 32 crore under the Khelo India scheme. With the budgetary allocation, we can expand the league efficiently,” said P Vishnu Raj, the sports and youth affairs director. Besides, the budget has earmarked Rs 1 crore for the promotion of sports programmes for people with disabilities and to organise paralympics in the state.