Karnataka Revenue Minister Krishna Byre Gowda
| Photo Credit: Sudhakakara Jain
The Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] in Kerala on Monday (September 22, 2025) sought to politically weaponise Karnataka Revenue Minister Krishna Byre Gowda’s praise for Kerala’s top ranking in the physical quality of life index against the Congress leadership in the State.
CPI(M) State committee member and General Education Minister V. Sivankutty “thanked” Mr. Gowda, a Congress leader, for “speaking the truth” about Kerala.
Mr. Sivankutty said the Congress Minister’s praise for Kerala’s “stellar achievements” flew in the face of the Opposition party’s “disheartening narrative” about the State’s development under nine years of Left Democratic Front (LDF) rule.
Speaking at a meeting organised by the All India Congress Committee (AICC) general secretary K.C. Venugopal, MP, in Alappuzha last week, Mr. Gowda had said: “If human resources is the most essential resource and human development the most valued asset, then Kerala is number one. Kerala leads the country in health care, education and human development. In contrast, Gujarat ranks among the lowest in the country. Kerala is a shining example for the whole of India”.
Mr. Sivankutty said it was particularly gratifying for the CPI(M) that Mr. Gowda had held a mirror to Kerala’s ascendancy at a public “MP’s merit awards” meeting organised by Mr. Venugopal.
Mr. Venugopal, along with Kerala Leader of the Opposition V. D. Satheesan, is among the harshest critics of the LDF government in the Congress in the State.
In contrast, national leaders have largely stayed away from dwelling on provincial politics, given that the Congress-led INDIA bloc considers the CPI(M) a political fellow traveller.
Notably, the Congress has repeatedly boycotted government-sponsored development conferences, terming the events election stunts and political campaigning by proxy using taxpayers’ money scrounged off from the State’s bone-dry treasury.
Mr. Venugopal had recently slammed the Global Ayyappa Sanghamam, supposedly for Sabarimala’s development, as an election-year antic to woo Hindu votes.
He accused the government of “crying crocodile tears” for its “trespasses on” Sabarimala traditions and Ayyappa faith during the 2018 Save Sabarimala campaign.
Meanwhile, the CPI(M)‘s social media handles have seized upon Mr. Gowda’s words to counter the Congress leadership.
The CPI(M) has also accused the Congress of “obsessively” turning its back on development and “staying away” from Kerala’s protests against the Centre’s alleged trespasses on fiscal federalism, including reducing the State’s share from the divisible pool of taxes, lowering its borrowing limit and slashing grain, kerosene, health care and social welfare allocations.
Published – September 22, 2025 01:55 pm IST
