Following Shashi Tharoor’s praise of the LDF government’s industrial policy, KPCC President K Sudhakaran has strongly refuted the claims, asserting that Kerala has not witnessed significant industrial growth under the LDF rule.

Sudhakaran criticized Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan’s government for exaggerating its industrial progress, claiming that the so-called breakthroughs primarily include small businesses like chicken shops.

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In a statement on Sunday, Sudhakaran credited the Oommen Chandy-led UDF government for pioneering the state’s startup initiatives, arguing that Kerala has failed to achieve the growth it deserves since then.

He stated that the increase in the number of enterprises was largely due to the registration of businesses under the central government’s Udyam scheme, introduced in 2020, which made it easier to obtain loans and subsidies.

“When enterprises register under the Udyam scheme, large-scale enrollments take place. A similar trend was observed when Kudumbashree enterprises were registered, leading to a surge in numbers,” he said.

Citing figures from the state government’s Economic Survey, Sudhakaran pointed out that the number of small enterprises in Kerala was 13,826 in 2018-19, 13,695 in 2019-20, 11,540 in 2020-21, and 15,285 in 2021-22.

However, following the introduction of the Udyam scheme in 2020, the number surged to 1,39,839 in 2020-21 and 1,03,596 the following year. The Industries Minister now claims this number has risen to 2.90 lakh, he noted.

Challenging these claims, Sudhakaran urged the Industries Minister to publish a verified list of the 2.90 lakh newly established enterprises.

He further emphasized that during Oommen Chandy’s tenure, Kerala topped the MSME survey in 2016, but has since struggled to maintain significant growth, particularly in the information technology sector.

“There is no substantial IT growth to boast about. While Kerala’s IT exports currently stand at Rs 24,000 crore, Karnataka’s amount to Rs 4.11 lakh crore, Telangana’s Rs 2 lakh crore, and Tamil Nadu’s Rs 1.70 lakh crore,” he said.

Sudhakaran also highlighted that the UDF government under Oommen Chandy initiated the state’s startup scheme even before Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the national Startup India initiative in 2016.

“While Prime Minister Narendra Modi introduced the startup scheme in 2016 to support young entrepreneurs, Oommen Chandy had already implemented it in Kerala in 2011. Since then, the state has failed to achieve the growth it was capable of,” he added.

Taking a dig at the CPI-M’s past stance on entrepreneurship, Sudhakaran remarked, “If the CPI-M, which has a history of attacking entrepreneurs and smashing computers, has changed its approach, it is a welcome shift. But they should not make exaggerated claims about their achievements.”