Kerala Chief Minister V. D. Satheesan presenting the Revised Budget for the fiscal 2026-27 at the State Assembly in Thiruvananthapuram.
| Photo Credit: (File photo) JAYAMOHAN A.
The general discussion on the Revised Budget 2026-27 presented by Kerala Chief Minister V.D. Satheesan on June 19 will begin in the State Legislative Assembly on Monday (June 22, 2026).The House is likely to see heated debate over the Budget over the next three days as the Opposition Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)]-led Left Democratic Front (LDF) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) have already criticised it for being flooded with announcements but lacking adequate allocations.The Revised Budget has reset the plan outlay for 2026-27 from ₹35,750 crore to ₹30,370 crore citing “significant shortfall in anticipated revenue estimated in the last Budget of the LDF government," presented in January this year.'Corporate-friendly’The LDF has accused the Budget of being corporate-friendly and pushing a privatisation agenda. Leader of the Opposition Pinarayi Vijayan alleged that Mr. Satheesan had “rebranded” announcements made by the previous LDF government, while advancing a pro-privatisation agenda and ignoring welfare commitments. CPI(M) State secretary M.V. Govindan described the Budget as the “opening speech” to total privatisation.BJP State president and MLA Rajeev Chandrasekhar alleged that the United Democratic Front (UDF) has now reneged on three of the five Indira Guarantees that it had pledged to implement on the very first day of assuming power.Meanwhile, Mr. Satheesan has swept aside the allegations that the Budget pushed for privatisation. He has maintained that his first Budget as the Finance Minister was designed to create a ‘Puthuyuga Keralam’ (New Age Kerala), Mr. Satheesan said his Revised Budget does not make a single mention of privatisation anywhere. At the same time, he added that his government intends to encourage private investment as it is the only way to boost the Kerala economy.The Revised Budget has reset the plan outlay on the grounds that the previous government had “erroneously projected” an inflated surplus of ₹20,500 crore under the heads of Revenue Deficit Grant and other grants and the State’s share of Union taxes. However, the 16th Union Finance Commission had decided against recommending RD Grants and State-specific grants.Additional allocationsThe Revised Budget has announced additional allocations of ₹527.68 crore and ₹152.52 crore for the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe sectors to compensate for the shortfall arising from the revision.The general discussion on the Revised Budget will be held from Monday to Wednesday. Published - June 21, 2026 04:12 pm IST
