Finance Minister K.N. Balagopal counters critics, says LDF government has made promises that can be fulfilled

Following Wednesday’s big-ticket announcements by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, Finance Minister K.N. Balagopal on Thursday (October 30, 2025) took on sceptics by stating that the Left Democratic Front (LDF) government has not made any promise that cannot be kept.

Mr. Balagopal said that the government has made these announcements not in an interim Budget, but when almost half of a financial year is still before it. Reacting to scepticism from various corners, including the Opposition United Democratic Front, as to how the government intended to find the money for the additional expenditure, Mr. Balagopal said the LDF government makes promises that can be kept. The government has always kept the people informed about the progress on each of its promises, he said.

Wednesday’s announcements, coming ahead of the 2025 local body elections and the 2026 Assembly polls, included hiking the monthly social security pensions to ₹2,000 per beneficiary and new a monthly ‘Sthree Suraksha’ pension of ₹1,000. On Wednesday, Mr. Balagopal had pegged the additional burden on the government at ₹10,000 crore annually.

Mr. Balagopal described the announcements as a continuation of the measures launched by the LDF government for ordinary citizens and workers. Each of the promises made in the election manifesto of the LDF, which has development and welfare as its priorities, are turning into reality, the Minister said. The eradication of extreme poverty, the announcement of which is to be made by the Chief Minister in the Assembly on Saturday, is part of these measures, he said.

Attributing the State’s achievements over the past few years to “continuity in government”—an apparent reference to the LDF winning a second consecutive term in 2021—Mr. Balagopal said the State has had to combat a “blockade-like” approach from the Union government. The Centre slashed Kerala’s rightful share of financial resources and its borrowing capacity. Mr. Balagopal reiterated the State’s grievance that these measures have deprived Kerala of at least ₹50,000 crore annually.