‘Communists in Kerala are anti-development,’ Nirmala Sitharaman slams CPM in Lok Sabha

New Delhi: Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman launched a sharp attack on the CPM and the Kerala government during the Budget debate in the Lok Sabha, alleging that Communists in Kerala are opposed to development.

She claimed that investment is not flowing into the state and asserted that economies have suffered wherever Communists have been in power. Sitharaman made the remarks while participating in the discussion on the Union Budget in the Lower House.

The Finance Minister said an industrialist had left Kerala with an investment of ₹3,500 crore. In an apparent reference to the Kitex Group, which shifted its proposed investment from Kerala to Telangana, she criticised the prevailing situation in the state.

Sitharaman further alleged that crime has increased in Kerala and that atrocities against Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes have risen during the tenure of the current Chief Minister.

Earlier in the debate, she had explained that allocations for coconut and cashew development schemes would significantly benefit Kerala. She made the critical remarks targeting Kerala after strongly criticising the Trinamool Congress government in West Bengal.

The Finance Minister also stated that 399 cooperative institutions in Kerala had been shut down due to financial distress. Citing National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data, she said atrocities against Scheduled Tribes in Kerala had increased by around six per cent, while cases involving Scheduled Castes had risen by 1.2 per cent.