Kerala ‘survives’ only with assistance from Centre: Kurian

Thiruvananthapuram, PTI: Days after sparking controversy with his ‘backward’ remark about the state, Union Minister George Kurian said on Tuesday that Kerala “survives” only with the assistance of the Centre and that there is not a single project the state can claim as its own. He alleged that the ruling LDF and the opposition UDF are constantly accusing the union government of neglecting the state as part of their “joint narrative” to hide their own failures. Their attempt is to cover up what Prime Minister Narendra Modi is doing, and that is why both the LDF and the UDF are jointly making such a narrative that the Centre was giving nothing to the state, the Minister of State for Fisheries and Minority Affairs alleged.

While speaking to Malayalam news channel Asianet News, Kurian said it is his duty to “destroy” the false narrative that PM Modi is giving nothing to the state. “Kerala is surviving only because of the assistance from the Centre. If there has been any development that has happened (in the state) in the last 10 years, it was done by PM Modi...There is not even a single project in Kerala that has not been granted by Modi,” he claimed.

Stating that there is no project that the state claims as its own, Kurian further said that if the state government has to give a salary to its employees, it should get money from the Centre. Indicating that the Kerala government was giving a monthly salary to its employees after diverting central allocated funds, the minister said it is money to be used for development, and he does not think that it (diverting funds) is a good practice.