Former finance minister K N Balagopal ridiculed the newly sworn in UDF government's decision to increase the honorarium of ASHA workers by ₹3000 as a case of "a mountain giving birth to a mole". The decision to hike the honorarium was announced by Chief Minister V D Satheesan at his first post-cabinet press conference on Monday. 

In a Facebook post on Monday, Balagopal said that the ASHA workers had originally demanded that their honorarium be increased to ₹21,000 and that they be provided retirement benefits of ₹5 lakh. "The then opposition leader, who is now the Chief Minister, had then declared that their demands would be met in the first cabinet meeting itself. But the decision he had taken on becoming the Chief Minister looks like a case of a mountain giving birth to a mole," Balagopal said. Chief Minister Satheesan said that a decision on retirement benefits for ASHAs would be taken in a month.

The LDF government was largely indifferent to the ASHA strike and had described it as part of a larger conspiracy to malign the LDF government. Balagopal's latest FB post suggests that he still suspects the leadership of the ASHA agitation. In his post, the former finance minister does not call it an ASHA agitation but a strike led by "certain organisations". 

Nonetheless, towards the end of its tenure, the LDF government had increased ASHA honorarium by ₹2000 in two tranches. "In all, the second Pinarayi ministry had increased the ASHA honorarium by ₹3000," Balagopal said. He said the first Pinarayi ministry had increased the honorarium by ₹5000. "When the first Pinarayi ministry assumed power, the honorarium was only ₹1000. And by the time the second Pinarayi ministry left, it was increased to ₹9000," Balagopal said.

It is widely believed that the LDF government's apathy towards the agitation mounted by ASHA workers was one of the reasons for the huge dubbing suffered by the LDF in 2026. In fact, ASHA workers had campaigned against the LDF candidate during the Nilambur by-election.

Balagopal also hinted that there was hypocrisy in the UDF's approach towards ASHAs. "Kerala has still not forgotten the agitation launched by ASHA workers for a higher honorarium during Oommen Chandy's time. It was only at the fag end of its term that the honorarium was increased by ₹500 to ₹1000," Balagopal said.