Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) State spokesperson M.S. Kumar has sought Finance Minister T.M. Thomas Isaac’s apology for blaming the Centre for the financial crisis and hiding the fact that unrestricted borrowing was the cause of the resource crunch.
Mr. Kumar told reporters here on Sunday that Dr. Isaac had all along been placing the onus for the crisis on the Centre, but had now revealed that it was the unrestricted borrowing that pushed the State to the brink of a crisis.
The Minister had said that funds equivalent to that of a five-year Plan allocation, about ₹16,000 crore was remaining unspent in the public account of various departments. Instead of borrowing from the Centre, the government had been borrowing from the market to meet its commitments over the years. Mr. Kumar said this was proof of the inefficiency of the government.
The Minister was trying to provoke the people to revolt against the Centre. This amounted to violation of oath and hence he did not deserve to hold the position anymore. The Minister should tender a public apology.
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan should drop him from the Cabinet. The government should issue a white paper on the State’s finances. Dr. Isaac would soon have to admit that even the Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board (KIIFB) was a failure, Mr. Kumar said.
