UDF White Paper Signals Govt's Privatisation Drive in Kerala: CPI(M)

Thiruvananthapram: The CPI(M) State Secretariat has issued a statement condemning the white paper tabled by the UDF government in the Keralam assembly, describing it as a declaration of the same aggressive privatisation policies being pursued by the BJP at the centre. The party said the document signals a clear retreat from the welfare provisions and people-oriented development activities that Kerala's citizens have long enjoyed, and that those who misled the public with extravagant promises have now revealed their true colours upon coming to power.

The statement said while Chief Minister V D Satheesan claimed the white paper's purpose was fiscal transparency, what it actually announces is the privatisation or outright sale of departments that serve essential public needs. Democratic governments, the party said, do not treat health, education, public distribution, electricity, drinking water, and transport as profit-making industries — these are services a government owes its citizens. Viewing them purely through a profit lens is the hallmark of neoliberal privatisation policy, which abandons the public to the mercy of private markets.

On public sector institutions, the party said the government intends to dismantle or sell them by projecting accumulated losses — built up over decades — as grounds for disposal, which would cause serious hardship to ordinary people. The proposed merger of the Beverages Corporation into the Civil Supplies Department was flagged as a possible prelude to its privatisation. Withdrawal of subsidies on electricity and water would adversely affect a large section of the population.

The statement also said the announcement that the retirement age will be aligned with the central government's standard effectively amounts to a complete recruitment freeze for the next five years — a direct challenge to Keralam's youth. The LDF governments had conducted 60 percent of all Public Service Commission appointments nationally during their ten years in office. Reducing salary revisions from every five years to every ten years was described as a grave injustice to government employees.

On KIIFB, the party said the white paper's intent to dismantle the institution — which delivered ₹1.10 lakh crore in infrastructure investment — would set Keralam's development back by decades. The plan to hand over coastal resources, mineral wealth, and black sand deposits to private players was described as surrendering Keralam's natural wealth to corporate interests, with the Chief Minister's earlier undisclosed visit to Mangaluru now seen as connected to this agenda.

The statement also pointed out that the white paper itself refutes UDF's own election campaign claims — the document puts Keralam's debt at ₹4.8 lakh crore when the LDF left office, and ₹5.07 lakh crore now, far below the ₹6 lakh crore figure Satheesan had repeatedly cited as Leader of the Opposition. Claims of ₹1 lakh crore in pending dues to government employees were similarly exposed as false. The party warned that any attempt to impose anti-people policies would be met with strong public resistance.