Kerala CM strongly criticises Union Budget, says Union Finance Minister forgot that Kerala is also on the map of India

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Sunday strongly criticised the Budget 2026 presented by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. The Chief Minister said the biggest crisis facing the state is the central government’s neglect towards Kerala.

“Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has deliberately forgotten the fact that Kerala is also on the map of India. The state’s long-standing demands for AIIMS, seven high-speed corridors for railway development, and a special package for Vizhinjam port development have all been completely ignored,” CM Vijayan said here.

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He said that Union ministers from Kerala need to answer for this neglect.

The Chief Minister said that the Finance Commission’s decision to reject Kerala’s demand to increase its share and continue with the current status quo of a 41 per cent share was a move that undermined federal principles.

As regards the state’s inclusion in the Dedicated Rare Earth Corridor scheme in the budget, Pinarayi Vijayan said, “The Centre’s move to seize Kerala’s mineral wealth is dangerous. The announcement in the Union Budget is a policy that paves the way for private mining companies. The Centre’s move is to help the private sector by speeding up the issuance of environmental clearances by repealing even the strict conditions of the Environment Ministry. The state government had announced in the budget that a mineral corridor would be established in the public sector by connecting Vizhinjam, Chavara, and Kochi. The Centre’s move to hand over mineral wealth to private companies, in complete contradiction to the state’s announcements, is dangerous. “

CPM Kerala secretary MV Govindan has also come out against the Union Budget, stating that it has completely ignored the state, and “the budget is a declaration of war on Kerala”.

Addressing a press conference here, Govindan said that the CPM would raise a strong protest against the Union budget, which has completely disappointed Kerala

“The Centre is continuing its stance of destroying Kerala through economic sanctions. There is nothing in the budget that is in Kerala’s favour. Kerala had demanded 29 items, including the AIIMS. But the budget has completely disappointed Kerala,” Govindan said.

The CPM leader said even when three All India Institutes of Ayurveda (AIA) were announced to promote Ayurvedic treatment and research, Kerala, the main centre of Ayurveda, did not get a single one. Although high-speed rail corridors were announced in seven places, Kerala was not included in the list. He alleged that the state’s inclusion in the Dedicated Rare Earth Corridor scheme will only benefit the private sector.

Kerala Industries Minister P Rajeev said that Kerala has been severely neglected in the central budget. Kerala, which was the first state in the country to come up with a high-speed rail project, was not considered in the budget, he said.

“The budget is disappointing. Seven high-speed rail projects were announced in the budget. Kerala was the first to approach the Centre with a high-speed rail project. Yet, Kerala was not considered. The state itself had taken the initiative and given the high-speed rail system to the Center. It was not approved,” Rajeev said.

Despite finding land and providing it, AIIMS was not allotted to Kerala this time, either, he told the media here.

Congress leader Shashi Tharoor MP said he hoped the Centre would carry out its promises to Kerala, including the establishment of an AIIMS, in the Union Budget, and stressed the need to tackle coastal erosion on a war footing. The large-scale erosion of coastal areas, referred to as parts of Bharat Mata, caused by the sea, does not receive proper attention in the budget, he said

Amidst stinging criticism that the budget has completely neglected Kerala, the state BJP shifted the blame to the state government, alleging failure to implement projects sanctioned by the Centre.

Speaking to the media here on Sunday, BJP state president Rajeev Chandrasekhar said the Modi government had lifted India from a weak economy to the world’s fourth-largest economy and that the Budget reflected medium- and long-term strategies.

He asked why the state government has not implemented the schemes given by the Centre to Kerala in the last 11 budgets.

“The Centre had announced several projects for Kerala in the last 11 budgets, but none were implemented by the state government. PM Ayushman Scheme, which benefits people above 70 years of age, is not being implemented by the Left government. Rs 6000 crore has been allocated for the Jal Jeevan Mission. This scheme is supposed to benefit 32 lakh families. But it has not reached a single house,” he said.