The White Paper released by the UDF government is nothing short of a declaration of the very same privatisation agenda that the BJP-led Union government has been aggressively pursuing at the Centre. It sends a clear signal that the government intends to retreat from the welfare measures and people-centric development initiatives that the people of Kerala have benefited from over the years. Those who misled the public with a torrent of promises during the election campaign have now revealed their true colours after assuming office. Naturally, there can be little doubt that such policies will evoke widespread public opposition.
Although Chief Minister V. D. Satheesan claimed that the purpose of the White Paper was merely to present the state’s financial position, what it actually proposes is the privatisation or sale of departments that provide essential public services. Democratic governments do not treat sectors such as healthcare, education, public distribution, electricity, drinking water, and transportation as profit-making enterprises. These are services that governments are duty-bound to provide to the people. Viewing them solely through the prism of profitability is a defining feature of neoliberal and privatisation policies. Such an approach entails the government withdrawing from sectors meant to serve the public and abandoning people to the ruthless forces of the private market. The White Paper makes it evident that V. D. Satheesan is charting the same course of reforms pursued by the Narendra Modi government.
The suggestion that the lion’s share of government revenue is spent on employee salaries effectively implies that government employees should not expect any further benefits. The proposal to merge the Beverages Corporation with the Civil Supplies Department also raises legitimate concerns that it is being deliberately pushed towards losses in preparation for eventual privatisation. Any withdrawal of subsidies on essential services such as electricity and water will adversely affect a large section of the population. Under the pretext of accumulated losses, the government appears intent on dismantling or selling several public sector enterprises. These so-called accumulated losses represent liabilities built up over decades. Using them as a justification to put public institutions on the auction block will impose severe hardships on ordinary people across the state.
The proposal to raise the retirement age to bring it in line with that of Union government employees is, in effect, equivalent to imposing a near-total recruitment freeze for the next five years. Over the past decade, the LDF governments in Kerala were responsible for around 60 per cent of all appointments made through the Public Service Commission. This announcement by the UDF government is therefore a direct challenge to the aspirations and future prospects of Kerala’s youth.
The White Paper’s proposal that salary revisions, which are currently implemented every five years, should henceforth take place only once every ten years constitutes a grave injustice to government employees.
The document also contains a declaration that threatens the future of KIIFB, the innovative mechanism conceived by the LDF government to overcome limitations in budgetary allocations for infrastructure development. Through KIIFB, the LDF government secured a historic place by facilitating investments worth ₹1.10 lakh crore across Kerala. Undermining KIIFB would set back the state’s future development and push Kerala towards a period of stagnation.
The proposal to hand over coastal regions, mineral resources, and mineral sands to the private sector is likewise an attempt to transfer Kerala’s wealth into the hands of corporate interests, including groups such as Adani and Ambani. In this context, the purpose behind the Chief Minister’s secret visit and meeting in Mangaluru before assuming office now appears to stand exposed.
The White Paper also serves as documentary evidence that the allegations propagated by the UDF against the LDF government during the election campaign were entirely devoid of factual basis. It was V. D. Satheesan himself, as Leader of the Opposition, who spearheaded the campaign claiming that Kerala’s debt had risen to ₹6 lakh crore. Yet the White Paper clearly states that the debt stood at ₹4.8 lakh crore when the LDF government demitted office and has now risen to ₹5.07 lakh crore.
The document tabled by the Chief Minister in the Assembly also establishes that the claims that the government owed ₹1 lakh crore in arrears to employees and faced immediate liabilities of ₹1.25 lakh crore were false.
In essence, the White Paper amounts to a declaration that the development initiatives and welfare measures witnessed in Kerala over the past decade will not continue under the present government. This reality will become even more evident when the budget and related policy decisions are unveiled. The government must not forget that any attempt to impose anti-people policies, regardless of the justification advanced, will inevitably be met with strong and determined popular resistance.