Kerala Budget rich in promises, but lacks allocation and clarity, says BJP

Flaying the Revised Budget presented by Chief Minister V.D. Satheeshan in the Assembly on Friday (June 19, 2026), BJP State president Rajeev Chandrasekhar, MLA, said that although Rahul Gandhi had promised welfare pensions of ₹3,000 per month for the people of the State, the government has instead provided them with a film city.

In a social media post, Mr. Chandrasekhar said that despite being aware of the State’s miserable financial condition even while in the Opposition, the Congress had made five promises to the people under the banner of ‘Indira Guarantees’. The party has now reneged on three of the five promises it had pledged to implement on the very first day of assuming power.

“The fourth promise, a health insurance coverage of ₹25 lakh per family, has been allocated only ₹10 crore in the Budget. That amounts to a premium of just ₹11 per family per year. This is tantamount to ridiculing ordinary Malayalis who are not covered by insurance,” Mr. Chandrasekhar said.

Central schemes

If the Chief Minister sincerely wants to help the people of the State by creating development and employment opportunities and making Kerala an investment-friendly destination, the first step should be to fix the State’s crumbling economy. For this, schemes such as PM Awas Yojana for the homeless and PM Ayushman Bharat providing health insurance should be implemented in collaboration with the Centre. This would enable the State to save a substantial amount of money while simultaneously providing assistance to people, he said. Otherwise, Kerala’s development will remain confined to mere words. The State will go backward further, just as it did under the Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)]-led government and India did under the Congress-led UPA government, he alleged.

The Nemom MLA also did not spare the CPI(M). He alleged that the 10-year rule of the LDF was the worst period in Kerala’s history, and added that since the formation of Kerala nearly 70 years ago, there has been no other government that caused so much damage to the State.

Like the previous government, the present administration has made numerous promises. However, those promises are built on a mountain of debt. There is not a single word from the Chief Minister on how this debt will be serviced. Every Malayali now carries a debt burden of around ₹1.4 lakh. Yet, there is no mention of how the government plans to manage or repay this debt, he told the media.

In short, the Budget was rich in announcements but lacked clarity on how the government intended to finance the various projects and welfare schemes proposed in it, Mr. Chandrasekhar said.

‘No change in policies’

Speaking at a press conference, BJP MLA B.B. Gopakumar said that despite the change of guard, there was little difference between the two political fronts in terms of policy framework and economic outlook. “Only the people occupying the seats have changed. There is no substantial change in the policies or economic approach of the two fronts,” he said.

According to BJP MLA V. Muraleedharan, it is clear that ‘New Kerala’ exists only on paper. The proposals announced in the Budget cannot bring about such a transformation on the ground, as they lack a credible implementation framework, he said.