Former Finance Minister K N Balagopal Criticizes Chief Minister V D Satheesan Over Handling of Confidential Financial Data

Thiruvananthapuram: Former Finance Minister K N Balagopal has accused Chief Minister V D Satheesan of repeatedly attempting to justify a mistake instead of acknowledging shortcomings on his own side.

Balagopal was responding to the Chief Minister's question regarding whether the disclosure by a former finance minister that ₹6,000 crore remained in the state treasury when the government left office was also a disclosure of confidential information.

According to Balagopal, when a financial year ends on March 31, finance ministers traditionally present the final figures relating to the government's income, expenditure, and cash balance before the public. He said such information concerns the state's financial condition and is meant to be shared with citizens.

However, he argued that it is entirely different to provide a private group operating outside the government's official framework with access to confidential information handled by the Finance Department's secret sections. This, he said, includes details of government transactions, classified financial records, reports, daily receipts and expenditures, as well as projected revenue and expenditure estimates.

Balagopal stated that handing over such information to an external private entity is an improper practice and one that is unheard of elsewhere in the country. He emphasized that this alleged transfer of confidential government data—not the public disclosure of treasury balances—was the issue being highlighted.