Thomas Isaac showed what he wanted in White Paper, says Chandy

Thiruvananthapuram: Former Chief Minister Oommen Chandy has come out against the White Paper the LDF government presented in the Assembly on Thursday saying there were several obscurities in the presented data.

“There are so many unclear things in the White Paper. Thomas Isaac presented only the data he wanted to highlight. It was presented with a political agenda,” Chandy told the media here on Friday.

“During the period of the UDF government, majority of the funds was spent on developmental projects. The government had to approve recommendations of two Pay Commissions in its tenure. That caused us a big financial burden,” Chandy said.

Finance Minister Thomas Isaac on Thursday presented the White Paper on the state's fiscal health, and vowed to put the state economy back on the rails through cost-cutting and tapping uncollected revenue.

"The state is facing an acute financial crisis. Our government is faced with the stark reality that there are no funds left for capital expenditure. However, the common man will not be affected. We will put back the state finances on the right track," he told the media after tabling the White Paper in the assembly.

"We have to pay out Rs 10,000 crore in the current year, including immediate and short-term liabilities. For the last three years, the state budgets did not touch reality either in terms of resources or with the actual expenditure incurred," the minister said.

The minister, however, did not blame the previous government on the SIP or plan expenditure. “We will gear up the tax machinery and ensure growth in tax collection is sustained at 20-25 per cent per annum for the next five years," Isaac said.

Commenting on the government's White Paper, former Finance Minister K.M. Mani said he is at a loss of words on whether to call it "a white or a black paper".

"It is not a financial but a political document, blaming the previous (United Democratic Front) government," Mani told reporters here.