Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Thursday strongly criticised Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy over his remarks against the Left government during a campaign visit to the state, and invited him to visit Kerala to understand its welfare model.

In a Facebook post, Pinarayi Vijayan described the Telangana CM as “misinformed” and accused him of “ridiculing” Kerala and its people while ignoring shortcomings in his own state.

"By conveniently ignoring the bulldozing of the homes of the poor in his own state, he appears ready to lecture Kerala on social progress and public welfare -- clearly, he has been seriously misinformed by someone," Vijayan wrote.

He said Kerala was progressing through “sustainable and inclusive development” and alleged that Reddy was supporting efforts to undermine this progress.

Responding to allegations of corruption and governance failure, Vijayan said, "He claims that Kerala is marked by 'corruption and administrative failure', but he should be willing to look at official data. Is he unaware that Kerala is among the least corrupt states in the country?"

Referring to official figures, he noted that Kerala ranked first in the NITI Aayog Sustainable Development Index (2023–24) with 79 points, while Telangana stood sixth. Highlighting social indicators, he said, "According to NITI Aayog data, Kerala's poverty rate is just 0.55 per cent -- the lowest in India." He added that Telangana’s poverty rate was 5.88 per cent.

On education and health, he said Kerala’s literacy rate stood at 95.3 per cent compared to Telangana’s 76.9 per cent, and added, "Kerala's infant mortality rate (IMR) has dropped to 5 per 1,000 live births," noting it was lower than that of countries like the United States.

"In Telangana, the IMR is said to be nearly four times higher. Due to strong healthcare systems, an average Malayali lives 5 to 7 years longer than the average Indian," he said.

Questioning Reddy’s criticism, Pinarayi asked, "When his own government seeks to learn from Kerala's initiatives, how is it that the chief minister himself ridicules them? What greater political hypocrisy could there be?"

He also dismissed Reddy’s claim that the Kerala government was working in tandem with the Centre, and instead accused the Congress of not effectively opposing policies that he said were financially affecting the state.

"Let me humbly say that Kerala has nothing to learn from a chief minister who leads a government where salaries and pensions are frequently delayed," he added.

Concluding his remarks, he said, "It is Revanth Reddy who should learn lessons in governance from Kerala. He is welcome to visit Kerala to study its welfare model."

The response came after Reddy criticised the Vijayan government while campaigning for UDF candidates ahead of the April 9 Assembly polls.

During his campaign speeches, Reddy had accused the Kerala government of remaining “silent” on stalled national development projects, including key highway works.

He also urged voters to “teach a lesson” to both the BJP and the LDF, alleging misuse of central agencies like the ED and CBI, and claiming CPM leaders were being spared due to political arrangements.

While acknowledging Kerala’s achievements in literacy, education and social development, Reddy attributed these to former Congress chief ministers.