Kerala Opposition Leader accuses government of taxing people for its poor fiscal management

V.D. Satheesan
| Photo Credit: THULASI KAKKAT

Kerala’s Leader of the Opposition V.D. Satheesan has accused the Left Democratic Front (LDF) government of exacerbating the cost-of-living crisis by “prodigiously” hiking land tax slabs and levies for contract carriages and electric vehicles, chiefly two-wheelers.

In a Facebook post, Mr. Satheesan described the government’s new tax regime, which commenced on Tuesday (April 1), as “an April Fool’s Day hoax” played on the public. The LDF’s poor fiscal management and lax tax administration have driven the State into debt, he wrote.

He said the LDF wanted the public to pick up the tab for its mismanagement and profligacy. Hence, it has sought to squeeze taxpayers further into shelling out ₹336 crore as additional resource mobilisation for the State.

He said the State Treasury was bone-dry, and the government owed public works contractors a significant amount of money. Civic works have ground to a halt. Traditional coir, cashew and fishery sectors were on the decline.

Mr. Satheesan said the government’s market intervention programme failed to mitigate seller inflation. Supplyco shelves were empty of essential provisions. The government hospitals lacked medicines. The Karunya health scheme remained on paper due to fund scarcity. 

‘Public utilities bankrupted’

He asserted that the government had bankrupted public utilities, including the Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB).

Mr. Satheesan remarked that the LDF had suspiciously annulled a cost-effective power purchase contract established by the Oommen Chandy government, granting undue financial advantage to private players in the electricity generation sector. 

Mr. Satheesan said the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) had flagged the government’s purchase of medicines and protective gear at unjustifiably exaggerated rates during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

He said the social welfare pension backlog was mounting. He also slammed the government for allegedly turning its back on ASHA workers who struggled for minimum wages.