The Left government in Kerala has invited Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin to join a protest organised by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and his cabinet colleagues against the alleged negligence towards the southern state by the BJP-led Centre in New Delhi next month. The protest is scheduled for 11 am at Jantar Mantar in Delhi on February 8. The invitation letter from the Kerala CM to Stalin was handed over by state Industries Minister P Rajeev in Chennai, according to an official release here on Monday.
During the meeting, Stalin expressed the view that the union government’s policy of financially squeezing the states should be collectively opposed. Rajeev presented the details of the petition filed by Kerala in the Supreme Court on this matter. The Kerala minister alleged that the Union government is withholding the state’s due share. Rajeev claimed that the Modi government is taking a negative approach on various issues, including project allocation, tax allocation, assistance to reduce revenue deficit, and GST compensation. He also accused the BJP-ruled Centre of denying the right to borrow.
Rajeev alleged that, besides Kerala, the central government is adopting a policy of discrimination against all states governed by non-BJP parties. He said that, at this stage, the presence of Stalin, the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, is expected at Kerala’s protest. Tamil Nadu Finance Minister Thangam Thennarasu and Tamil Nadu Chief Secretary Sivadas Meena also attended the meeting, the release said. The LDF government has planned various programmes to spread the message of the protest to the people, including house visits across Kerala on a booth basis from 4 pm to 6 pm on the day of the protest.
The Congress-led UDF in Kerala has rejected the ruling LDF’s call for a joint strike against the central government in New Delhi, citing disagreement with the CPI(M)-led government’s narrative that attributes the state’s financial challenges solely to neglect by the union government.
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