Kerala finance minister Thomas Issac on Friday stirred a controversy when he carried the 2020-21 state budget document with a picture of Mahatma Gandhi’s assassination on its cover.
As the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) hit out at the Communist Party of India (Marxist)-led state government, Issac justified it ,saying the move was meant to send out the message that the country “will not forget who murdered Gandhi.”
“Yes, we remember Mahatma was murdered. We will not forget who murdered Gandhiji. He was murdered by Hindu communalists and many in the ruling party still revere them,” he said
The picture on the cover of the Kerala budget document depicts Gandhi lying in a pool of blood as supporters surround him in mourning.
Defending the move, the state finance minister said it was a painting by an artist from the state and the depiction was more relevant now. “This is important at the time when history is being rewritten. There is a concerted attempt to erase popular memories and use the National Register of Citizens (NRC) to divide the country on communal lines. Kerala will stand united,” he said.
Kerala has taken ben a strong critic of the Citizenship Amendment Act and the National Population Register (NPR). Kerala was the first state to pass a resolution against the CAA and the first to move the Supreme Court against the amended law.
“There is a lot of fear among people. Youth, who are the future of the country, are on the streets protesting. In such a situation, in an unprecedented move, both the ruling and opposition parties came together,” he said.
Hitting out at Issac, opposition leader Ramesh Chennithalaof the Congress said, “We have been fighting communal forces for long. But I don’t think it was an appropriate gesture.”
BJP spokesperson J R Padmakumar said, “Sad, they don’t have anything else to say or show.” Muslim League leader K M Muneer also slammed the move.
Meanwhile, Issac tabled the state’s economic review in the assembly on Thursday. According to the report, Kerala has been witnessing a demographic transition, marked by a declining birth rate and a rapid rise in the number of elderly people.
Although the state has been witnessing the phenomenon for quite some time, the latest data shows the state is ageing fast, surpassing the national average. Out of a population of 33.4 million people, about 4.8 million people are above 60 years of age and out of these, 15% are above 80, it says.
“In 1961, Kerala’s 60- plus population was 5.1 percent, which was just below the national average of 5.6 percent. Since 1980, Kerala has overtaken the rest of India and in 2001 the proportion of the old age population rose to 10.5 per cent as against all India average of 7.5 percent. By 2011, 12.6 percent of Kerala’s population was past 60 years, compared to the all India average of 8.6 percent. By 2015, population data show that it increased to 13.1 per cent in Kerala against the all India average of 8.3 per cent (SRS Statistical Report 2015),” the review stated.
A large proportion of old age people in the state are widows. As per Census 2011, in the age group of 60-69, 23% are widows. By 2025, about 20% of the population would be elderly and the consequent demand on the social security system would be substantial, the review said.
Eyeing the trend, many entrepreneurs in the state have started geriatric care centres and old age homes.