Union Minister Nirmala Sitharaman takes on Kerala govt at NDA election convention in Thiruvananthapuram

Thiruvananthapuram (Kerala) [India], March 28 (ANI): Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman launched an attack on the Communist Party of India (Marxist)-led government in Kerala during an election convention organised by the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in Thiruvananthapuram on Thursday.
During her inaugural address, the Union Minister appealed to the people of Kerala to support the NDA candidates.
Stressing on the economic situation of Kerala, Nirmala Sitharaman said, "Kerala is on the list of the top five financially stressed states. This is not the mistake of the people. It is due to continuous poor governance and poor fiscal management. Kerala has borrowed around Rs 42, crore in the past six years. This will be repaid from the government treasury by the people of Kerala."
"You have a problem, you have a communist government, you have an MP who again sits in opposition. Kindly listen to the numbers I am giving. They keep saying that the Modi government is adopting a stepmotherly attitude. Tax devolution during UPA government time was Rs 46,303 crore. In PM Modi's ten years until February 2024, it rose to Rs 1,55,644 crore I am assuring you and saying that we are giving money without even one paise delay," she said.
"From tomorrow, ask the communist government this question, national unemployment figures in 2022-23: the national average is 4 but in kerala it was 9.2 per cent. In Kerala, scams are like one after the other. From 2016-21, nearly 30 political killings were reported. In the veterinary student suicide in Wayanad, four office-bearers of SFI are accused. Is it a student's movement or a murderer's movement?" she asked.
Kerala's 20 Lok Sabha constituencies will go to polls on April 26. (ANI)