Thiruvananthapuram: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s warning that the federal government will not provide financial backing to those states that oppose development activities has drawn sharp criticism from Kerala Finance Minister T.M. Thomas Isaac.
The economist-turned-politician commented on social media that his party was against the kind of development model that Modi was pursuing.
Reacting to Modi’s warning on withholding financial support to those states that did not toe the federal government’s development policies, Isaac commented: ”Make no mistake, we are against your development model. But because of that, please don’t say that you will not give us the federal share of funds. That is not a concession from you, it is our right. It is a part of the tax earnings to which we too contribute.
“If you have to deny us the share of federal funds, the constitution has to be rewritten. We know that is your aim, but it will not happen.”
Isaac went on to ask, “What is your concept of development? A Madhya Pradesh or Rajasthan which have neither economic development nor welfare measures? Or a Gujarat where despite economic development there are no welfare measures? Neither of these models is acceptable to us.”
The finance minister went on to claim that “Kerala has health, education and welfare facilities that states ruled by your party cannot even dream of”, adding that Modi should instead be learning from the Kerala model.
Isaac added that Kerala would not settle for a Gujarat model if it did not consider the welfare of the people of the state.
The Bharatiya Janata Party and the Communist Party of India Marxist have been exchanging political fire in recent months, with national leaders of the BJP alleging that CPM cadres were brutally attacking BJP supporters in Kerala.
The BJP presently has a lone MLA in the 140-member state assembly, but the national leadership of the party is giving strong emphasis on ensuring the growth of the party in Kerala.
