Leader of the Opposition V. D. Satheesan said the Centre's budgetary allocation for 400 modern Vande Bharath trains had rendered the Left Democratic Front (LDF) 's flagship SilverLine project redundant.
Mr. Satheesan said the Vande Bharath trains have a top speed of 180 km. They would traverse the existing rail system. The Centre would bear the entire cost for the scheme. The government should drop the financially and economically unviable K-rail project in the wake of the Centre's announcement.
The Central Budget offered no succour to the COVID-19 ravaged people. Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has projected the false image of a national economy on the rebound via a jugglery of figures and financial statistics, he said.
The Central budget smacked of tax terrorism. It aspires to sell critical national assets. The country was yet to clamber out of the economic abyss caused by the Modi government's disastrous demonetisation and GST policies.
Mr. Satheesan said the Centre had allowed scrupulous private players to juggle the stock market, create "bubbles", and cause loss to ordinary investors.
He welcomed the sharp hike in capital expenditure, including upcoming investments in health, education, roads, ropeways, piped water supply, power and rural infrastructure.
Mr. Satheesan backed Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan's demand that the Centre enhance GST compensation and extend the payments till at least 2027. However, he said Kerala's flawed financial policies were to blame for the shortfall in GST revenue.
Former Finance Minister Thomas Isaac had rolled out a red carpet to the Centre's GST regime by claiming that it would boost the State's revenues by 30%. However, the State had registered a trifling 10% in GST revenue in the past five years, he said.
