Congress MP Shashi Tharoor sharply criticised the Union Budget, alleging that it offered nothing of substance for Kerala and accusing the Centre of effectively rendering the state invisible in its fiscal priorities. Expressing his displeasure on Sunday, Tharoor sarcastically coined the hashtag “Invisible Kerala” to underline what he described as the complete absence of any meaningful reference to the state in the Budget.
Tharoor questioned why Kerala found no mention at all in Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s Budget speech, despite the state’s substantial contribution to India’s overall growth narrative. He pointed out that Kerala plays a significant role in strengthening the country’s foreign exchange reserves through remittances, supplies a highly skilled workforce both within India and abroad, and contributes considerably to India’s global image and soft power.
In a strongly worded social media post, Tharoor said the Finance Minister’s speech gave him a troubling sense of déjà vu. He remarked that for a state that contributes so robustly to the national economy, Kerala’s total omission from the Centre’s fiscal vision was deeply concerning. Describing the Budget as a “Budget of Invisible Kerala,” particularly in an election year, he suggested that the silence itself conveyed a political message.
Tharoor also expressed frustration with both the Centre and the state leadership. He said that ordinary Malayalis were trapped between a Union government that appeared indifferent to Kerala’s difficulties and a state government that, in his view, was unwilling to acknowledge or address its own fiscal mismanagement. As the Member of Parliament representing Kerala’s capital, he added that the state Budget had been framed on the assumption of central financial support that the Union Budget had now clearly failed to provide.
Calling for a change in approach, Tharoor argued that Kerala needed an alternative political and economic strategy—one that could command respect in New Delhi and translate that standing into tangible development outcomes for the state. He stressed that repeated disappointment with central allocations could not continue to be brushed aside.
Earlier, Tharoor had said he had hoped the Union Budget would finally honour long-pending commitments to Kerala, including the establishment of an AIIMS in the state. He also reiterated the urgent need to address coastal erosion, warning that the issue required action on a “war footing” given the scale of land loss and its impact on livelihoods.
Drawing a pointed comparison, Tharoor asked why the loss of even a small stretch of land to China is immediately framed in terms of war and national security, while the steady erosion of India’s coastline—particularly in Kerala—fails to attract similar urgency or concern from the Centre.
