Thiruvananthapuram: Former Finance Minister K N Balagopal strongly rejected senior Congress leader A K Antony’s claim that Kerala had been left “bankrupt,” calling the statement factually incorrect and made without understanding the state’s financial position.

In a Facebook post, Balagopal said the outgoing LDF government had responsibly fulfilled 95 per cent of the promises made in its election manifesto, with all related expenditure met through the state treasury without disruption.

“The new government has been handed over a treasury capable of handling all financial challenges,” Balagopal said, adding that the outgoing government left office with a treasury balance of ₹4,000 crore.

He said Kerala’s average annual expenditure over the last five years stood at ₹1.72 lakh crore, while expenditure in the 2025-26 financial year alone crossed ₹2 lakh crore.

Drawing comparisons with previous administrations, Balagopal said the state’s average annual expenditure was around ₹70,000 crore during the Oommen Chandy government and ₹1.15 lakh crore during the first Pinarayi Vijayan government.

"Despite financial constraints caused by what he described as repeated restrictions imposed by the Union government, the state treasury was never shut even for a day," he said, adding that salaries and pensions of government employees were paid without interruption. He also claimed that when the second Pinarayi Vijayan government demitted office, there were no pending welfare pension dues, and all pending dearness allowance (DA) and dearness relief (DR) benefits for government employees and pensioners had been sanctioned.

Balagopal further said the government had ensured regular monthly salary and pension payments for employees of Kerala state Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC), spending around ₹125 crore every month from the state treasury.

Highlighting welfare measures, he said more than 20 lakh women received ₹1,000 every month under the Chief Minister’s women’s financial assistance scheme, while unemployed youth were given ₹1,000 under the Connect Work scholarship programme.

On the state’s debt position, Balagopal claimed Kerala’s public debt had declined from 39 per cent in 2021 to below 34 per cent, arguing that the state was no longer among the 15 most indebted states in the country.

He attributed the improvement in finances to increased own-tax revenue and expenditure management, claiming the state’s own revenue rose from ₹47,000 crore to ₹1 lakh crore over five years.

Balagopal also said Kerala’s sustained campaign against what he termed the Centre’s “anti-federal financial policies” had yielded results, with the 16th Finance Commission increasing the state’s share in the divisible pool from 1.925 per cent to 2.382 per cent. According to him, the increase would bring the state an additional ₹10,000 crore annually between 2026 and 2031, benefiting the newly elected UDF government.