Kerala CM V.D. Satheesan tables White Paper on State finances in Assembly

Kerala Chief Minister V.D. Satheesan on Thursday (June 4, 2026) tabled a White Paper on the financial status of Kerala in the State Legislative Assembly. The contents of the document are expected to be made available in a short while. K.N. Balagopal, who was Finance Minister in the previous CPI(M)-led LDF government, registered dissent. Mr. Balagopal argued that the document should have been drafted by the State Finance department, not by an external committee as in this case. Satheesan described the White Paper as a “status report of Kerala’s fiscal health.” All norms have been followed in drafting the document, he said. The keenly-awaited document is expected to intensify the heated debate between the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) and the CPI(M)-led Opposition Left Democratic Front (LDF) on the fiscal health of the State. Ahead of Budget The White Paper comes ahead of the presentation of the Revised State Budget on June 19. The plan to publish the White Paper was among the first announcements of the new UDF government which came to power in May. On May 19, it formed a special committee chaired by former Union Cabinet secretary K.M. Chandrasekhar for drafting the White Paper. Economist and former Director of the Gulati Institute of Finance and Taxation D. Narayana, and Professor and Director of the Centre for Development Studies C. Veeramani were members. Additional Chief Secretary (Finance) K.R. Jyothilal was the convener of the committee. State finances have been a touchy issue ever since Mr. Satheesan, who also handles the Finance portfolio, claimed after the UDF’s landslide election victory that the front had inherited “an empty treasury.” LDF stance The LDF, led by former Chief Minister and current Leader of Opposition Pinarayi Vijayan and former Finance Minister K.N. Balagopal, had countered the charge. Balagopal had argued that the State was in a much better position financially. Mr. Vijayan had recently stated that When the previous LDF government stepped down the treasury had a cash balance of ₹5,429 crore when the LDF stepped down. During the past 10 years of LDF rule, State finances have been in the spotlight on account of the extended tussle between the State and Centre over fiscal policy.