Keralam can’t flourish at loggerheads with Centre: Chandrasekhar to CM Satheesan

At the India Today Keralam Roundtable, Rajeev Chandrasekhar said the state must work with the Centre and rethink its stand on PM SHRI. He argued that cooperation, education reform and delivery on promises are central to Kerala's growth prospects.

BJP Keralam chief Rajeev Chandrasekhar said that the state cannot prosper by being at odds with the Centre, urging CM VD Satheesan to cooperate with the Modi government, including on PM SHRI. He also attacked the state government over jobs, investment, education and rising debt, while questioning its 120-day record.

Keralam cannot flourish without cooperation between the state and the Centre, and the state government must reconsider its stand on the PM SHRI scheme if it wants to modernise education and create better opportunities for children, state BJP chief Rajeev Chandrasekhar said at India Today’s Keralam Roundtable.

Speaking to India Today, Chandrasekhar, a former Minister of State for IT, said there was “very little fiscal headroom” in Keralam for investment and growth. He attributed the state’s challenges to a combination of what the government had inherited from the previous Pinarayi Vijayan government and what he said were the consequences of several years of Congress rule.

He cited a lack of infrastructure, emigration of talent, inadequate investments and jobs, high inflation and recent power cuts as factors that, according to him, did not create a favourable environment for investors.

“There is no state in this country who can do well-being at loggerheads with the Centre. This is just common sense,” Chandrasekhar said.

Chandrasekhar rejected Keralam CM Satheesan’s assertion that he was ready to cooperate with the Centre.

“It’s not what I say, but it’s what I do that matters,” the Keralam BJP chief said.

He pointed to Keralam CM Satheesan’s opposition to PM SHRI, questioning how the education system in Keralam could be reformed if the state government refused to implement the scheme.

“How will you give better opportunities to poor children for better school if the Muslim League minister says we should throw PM SHRI into the Arabian Sea?” he said.

Chandrasekhar said Keralam needed to create a “conducive atmosphere” for cooperation with the Centre, arguing that the interests of the people should be prioritised over politics.

“You have to have a relationship with the Centre where you place the interest of the people in Keralam primarily and play politics later on or during election time,” he said.

'NO VISION ON EDUCATION'

Chandrasekhar also criticised the Keralam government over its first 120 days, saying there was no clear vision on education.

He claimed that despite the promises made by the government, four out of five guarantees had not been fulfilled after 120 days. He said the only things that had increased were the per capita debt and gross debt of the state government.

“Not one job, not one investment, not one company to come in here,” he said.

Chandrasekhar also questioned the government over power cuts, saying that blaming the rain for them was not an adequate explanation.

“These are harsh realities,” he said, adding that “Congress politics is reduced to reels”.

Chandrasekhar also questioned the description of Keralam’s development trajectory as the “Keralam model”.

He said he had earlier been “in awe” of the phrase but claimed that, after entering Keralam politics, he had come to view it as a “CPM model.”

According to Chandrasekhar, the model was “very dysfunctional”, with political corruption, inadequate development, joblessness, zero investment and limited economic activity. He also claimed that Keralam’s per-capita debt had quadrupled.

He said the period before Keralam CM Satheesan’s tenure offered no comparison for the current government, while arguing that the state’s inherited problems and its political position towards the Centre would make it difficult for Keralam CM Satheesan to deliver on his promises.

Chandrasekhar said the BJP wanted Keralam to prosper and that his party would support any government that improved the state’s education system, colleges and agriculture.

“We want our state to do well. We want our children to get jobs. We want the education system in Keralam to be modernized. We want our colleges to be top class. We want our farmers to be commercially viable,” he said.

However, he said governments should conduct “due diligence” before making promises and assess whether they had the ability to fulfil them.

Chandrasekhar also criticised Congress leader Rahul Gandhi over his description of the new UPI Merchant Discount Rate as a “tax”.

“I always wonder what is the best way to describe Rahul Gandhi,” Chandrasekhar said, before calling him a “brand ambassador for headache tablet -- Saridon.”

He said UPI was a globally accepted and respected digital payments platform and argued that the new nominal charge on transactions between individuals and merchants was similar to the MDR charged on debit and credit card transactions.

“Something that is free should remain free forever? Then why don’t we argue that every service should be free,” he said.

Chandrasekhar said the merchant, rather than the individual, was being charged the fee and questioned why the new MDR should be described as a tax.

“If Rahul is saying something sensible, then we are all here to respond to it or have a discourse, but