Thiruvananthapuram: Keralam BJP chief Rajeev Chandrasekhar on Tuesday criticised the then Congress-led UPA government in the Centre for inadequate railway investment in the state despite the state having eight union ministers during its tenure.
In a post on ‘X’, Chandrasekhar said Keralam received only Rs 372 crore for railway development in 2014 during the UPA rule, when the government was supported by the CPI(M).
He said railway investment in Keralam rose to Rs 3,795 crore in the 2026-27 financial year under the Narendra Modi-led government, despite the BJP having only one MP from the state.
Under the UPA government (2004–2014), Kerala received approximately ₹72,000 crore from the Centre. In contrast, under the BJP-led NDA government since 2014, the state has been allocated over ₹3.2 lakh crore.
The Union Railway Ministry noted that current railway budgetary outlays for Kerala—such as the recent ₹3,042 crore allocation—represent an eightfold increase compared to the average annual allocations seen during the 2009–2014 UPA period.
Chandrasekhar blamed the state government’s inefficiencies and severe delays in land acquisition (such as only acquiring 13% of needed land for ongoing tracks) for holding back critical central rail infrastructure benefits, including the proposal to reduce travel time between Kasaragod and Thiruvananthapuram to four hours. [1, 2]
