Thiruvananthapuram, May 14 (PTI) Former Kerala Finance Minister K N Balagopal on Thursday rejected senior Congress leader A K Antony’s claim that the state is a “bankrupt state”, calling it factually incorrect and made without understanding the situation.
Earlier in the day, Antony said the state was in severe financial distress when Chief Minister-designate V D Satheesan visited his house.
In a Facebook post, Balagopal said he expects Antony to correct his statement after understanding the facts.
He said the outgoing government had implemented 95 per cent of the promises in its manifesto, with funds being released without disruption.
“The finance department ensured that funds were provided without any hurdles,” he said.
According to him, the state’s
average annual expenditure over the past five years was Rs 1.72 lakh crore, while more than Rs 2 lakh crore was spent in the 2025-26 financial year alone.
Balagopal said that despite financial constraints imposed by the Centre, the state never shut its treasury even for a day.
“Not a single day did the treasury close, nor were salaries and pensions delayed,” he said, adding that no welfare pension arrears were pending when the government demitted office.
Highlighting welfare measures, he said over 20 lakh women received Rs 1,000 per month as assistance, while job-seeking youth were supported through the Connect Work scheme.
He also said the state’s public debt had reduced from 39 per cent in 2021 to below 34 per cent now.
“Kerala is not even among the top 15 states in terms of debt burden,” he said.
Balagopal credited improved financial management for increasing the state’s own revenue from Rs 47,000 crore to Rs 1 lakh crore over five years.
He added that the outgoing government was handing over a financially stable treasury to the new administration, with a balance of Rs 4,000 crore.
Criticising the UDF, he alleged that its past governments had delayed welfare pensions and stalled development works.
Balagopal also said recent remarks suggesting difficulty in implementing promises should be seen as an attempt to backtrack on commitments made to the people. PTI TBA TBA KH
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