Thiruvananthapuram/New Delhi: Union Minister George Kurian said that if Kerala wants more funds from the Centre, the state should declare that it is backwards in terms of education, infrastructure, and social welfare.

Kurian said the Centre allocates such financial packages to states that are backwards on various indices. "You announce that Kerala is backward, that it does not have roads, good education, etc. If you say that Kerala is behind other states in terms of education, infrastructure, and social welfare, then the (Finance) Commission will examine it and give a report to the central government.

The central government will make a decision based on the report. It does not decide on its own," he said.

The remark from Kurian, while speaking to the media, came in the wake of intense criticism of the union budget 2025-26 from the ruling CPM and the opposition Congress, which on Saturday accused the central government of "neglecting" all of the state's demands.

Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, state Finance Minister K N Balagopal, and Leader of Opposition in the state assembly V D Satheesan said that the budget "ignored" several of the state's demands, including a special financial package of Rs 24,000 crore and another package for the rehabilitation of Wayanad. They termed the budget "condemnable," "extremely disappointing," and "unfortunate."

Irked by Kurian's remarks, CPM state secretary M V Govindan responded, saying that the Centre wants Kerala to be backward, "but that will not happen." He added that the central government is supposed to help Kerala develop further "instead of asking it to go backwards."

"So, George Kurian's help is for Kerala to go backwards," he contended while speaking at an event in the state capital.