Kerala Finance Minister castigates Centre over fiscal policies, calls it 'damaging'
Thiruvananthapuram (PTI): Kerala Finance Minister K N Balagopal has castigated the Centre by terming its fiscal policies as 'damaging' to the federal structure of the country.
He also targetted the opposition Congress-led UDF in the state over "unprecedented protests" against the Left government over the imposition of cess on fuel prices, saying they were silent over the cess collected by the union government.
The Congress has been organising widespread protests across the state against the fuel cess of Rs 2 imposed by the state government in the recent budget.
Addressing the media here on Wednesday, Balagopal said this was not the first time a cess was proposed in the budget.
"We have not received the GST compensation since June last year. The Centre has reduced the tax but its benefit was not going to the consumers but to huge corporate companies. I would like to reiterate that today the state governments in this country do not even have the power of panchayats," Balagopal said.
He claimed that the fiscal policies were 'damaging' the federal structure of the country.
"States have a federal authority but that authority of the state governments has been curtailed and they took away the control over tax collection."
Taking on the Congress party, Balagopal recalled that in 2015-16, the then UDF government had imposed Rs 1 as cess on fuel prices.
"Similarly, this cess was imposed for social security seed fund purposes. We need to look at the situation of the state. Last two times, we did not impose any major tax due to the pandemic but announced packages of Rs 20,000 and Rs 5,000 among others," the CPI(M) leader pointed out.
Justifying the cess, Balagopal said the rise was "not exorbitant" whereas over Rs 19 was being collected by the central government.
The government has said the social security cess on Indian Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL) and on the sale of petrol and diesel were part of its commitment to continue protecting the lives of vulnerable sections of society by supplementing financial resources.
An additional revenue of Rs 400 crore is expected through the social security cess on each bottle of IMFL while an additional revenue of Rs 750 crore is expected from the cess on sale of petrol and diesel at the rate of Rs 2 per litre.
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Late flourish masks CSK’s batting woes on lively Chepauk track, hosts post 158/7
Chennai (PTI): Bowlers calling the shots in a format dominated by big hitters is a rarity, but that script played out at Chepauk on Sunday as Gujarat Titans exploited a lively, bounce-friendly surface to stifle Chennai Super Kings before the hosts managed a late flourish to reach 158 for 7.
On a pitch that offered sharp carry, stroke-making demanded discretion and adaptability. Instead, CSK’s batters often opted for high-risk shots without fully assessing conditions, and paid the price with a flurry of miscued dismissals.
Invited to bat, CSK never quite found rhythm but skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad’s maiden half-century (74 not out) of the current IPL season lent a semblance of respectability to the total in a season where 200-plus scores have become commonplace.
Gaikwad's knock came off 60 balls with six fours and four sixes after a laboured start.
The tone was set early by GT pacer Mohammed Siraj, who extracted steep bounce and forced errors.
Sanju Samson (11) began watchfully, negotiating the first over before opening up against Kagiso Rabada to bring up his 5000 IPL runs milestone. However, Rabada’s bounce soon accounted for him as a hard slash outside off resulted in a faint edge that Jos Buttler pouched safely.
The dismissal triggered a collapse. Urvil Patel (4) fell in the same Rabada over attempting an ambitious pull, while Sarfaraz Khan (0) succumbed to Siraj’s extra lift, mistiming a short ball to offer a simple catch.
At 28 for 3 inside the Powerplay, CSK were already in trouble.
Gaikwad and Dewald Brevis (2) needed to rebuild, but the latter’s impatience against spinner Manav Suthar led to his downfall, holing out after failing to get to the pitch of the ball.
The mounting wickets forced Gaikwad into a shell — an approach that, while understandable, further stalled the momentum. His reluctance to improvise allowed dot balls to pile up, with CSK reaching 50 only in the 12th over.
The skipper eventually broke free, taking on Arshad Khan and Jason Holder with a couple of towering sixes, but the acceleration came too late.
Shivam Dube, dropped thrice on 6, 11 and 22, struggled for fluency before Arshad cleaned him up.
Kartik Sharma (15) and Jamie Overton (18) provided late impetus with a few lusty hits, but the damage had already been done.
On a pitch that rewarded discipline and smart shot selection, Titans' bowlers executed their plans to perfection, while CSK’s batters failed to read the conditions in time, a lapse that ultimately defined the innings.
