Thiruvananthapuram, Feb 2 (PTI) The ruling CPI (M) on Sunday intensified it's attack against the Centre over the alleged neglect faced by the state in the union budget 2025-26 and said it reflected the "anti-Kerala" mindset of the BJP.

Veteran Marxist party leaders M V Govindan and E P Jayarajan slammed the budget, presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday, and Union Minister of State George Kurian's controversial statement against the southern state with regard to budget allocations.

Reacting to the criticism by the ruling LDF and the opposition UDF against the budget, Kurian had said that if Kerala wanted more funds from the Centre, the state should declare it as backward in terms of education, infrastructure, and social welfare.

CPI (M) state secretary M V Govindan alleged that the BJP always adopted an "anti-Kerala stand" and its leaders from the state also have the same outlook.

He noted that Kerala has been in the forefront of the human development index, health, education and many other sectors in the country.

Referring to the alleged neglect of Kerala's major demands in the union budget, the Left leader alleged that the BJP and the union government want to create hurdles in the state's development path.

"The objective of the BJP is to make Kerala poor and backward. They made several attempts to tighten their grip in the state. As all such attempts have failed, they are now trying to push Kerala backward by denying deserved allocations," Govindan alleged.

Further charging that the union government and its ministers are also adopting the same stand, he said Kurian's remark against the state in connection with the budget allocations was also part of that.

Alleging that the union budget had discriminated towards various states based on politics, he accused the BJP-led Centre of acting against federal principles and secular values of the country and adopting a dictatorial mindset.

Echoing similar views, CPI (M) veteran E P Jayarajan urged the central government to accept that India is a united nation and said every state in that country should be received equal justice.

People of the state should come forward strongly protesting against the union minister's statement that Kerala should go backward in all areas in terms of development to receive central allocations, he said.

The leaders' intense criticism against the BJP and the union government came a day after the ruling LDF and the opposition UDF accused the Centre of neglecting all of the state's demands in budget 2025-26.

Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, state Finance Minister K N Balagopal, and Leader of Opposition in the state assembly V D Satheesan had said that several of the state's demands, including a special financial package of Rs 24,000 crore and another package for the rehabilitation of Wayanad, were "ignored" in the budget.

PTI LGK ROH

Allocation discrimination alleged in the union budget, said to violate federal principles and deny Kerala fair funding. Allegations that central budgetary decisions withheld allocations from a specific state for partisan reasons, coupled with a minister's remark that the state must be deemed backward to receive funds, raise concerns about compliance with federal principles and equal treatment among states; the piece frames these acts as discriminatory budgetary conduct undermining nondiscrimination and secular values and urges responses asserting the right to equal justice in central fiscal allocation.