'Kerala is entirely invisible': Shashi Tharoor flags rail, AIIMS and port gaps in Budget 2026

Union Budget 2026 | Congress MP Shashi Tharoor on Sunday said Kerala was “entirely invisible” in the Centre's fiscal planning in Budget 2026, arguing that the repeated omissions send a political signal in an election year.

Reacting to Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman's Budget speech, the Thiruvananthapuram MP wrote: "A disquieting sense of déjà vu pervades the FM’s speech today. For a state that contributes so robustly to the nation’s forex reserves, skilled workforce, and soft power, Kerala appears to be entirely invisible in the Centre’s fiscal vision. A "Budget of Invisible Kerala" in an election year is a message in itself."

Tharoor also targeted the Budget's announcement of new high-speed rail corridors, saying Kerala's exclusion was indefensible given the state’s density and commuter needs.

"The announcement of 7 new High-Speed Rail Corridors across India is welcome for the nation, but the glaring exclusion of Kerala is indefensible. We are a high-density state crying out for modern transit. The Centre ignores us, and the State proposes paper projects it cannot afford. Our commuters are left with nothing. We need actual trains, not new acronyms. #UnionBudget2026," he wrote.

In her Budget 2026 speech, Sitharaman announced: "In order to promote environmentally sustainable passenger systems, we will develop seven High-Speed Rail corridors between cities as ‘growth connectors’, namely i) Mumbai-Pune, ii) Pune-Hyderabad, iii) Hyderabad-Bengaluru, iv) Hyderabad-Chennai, v) Chennai-Bengaluru, vi) Delhi-Varanasi, vii) Varanasi-Siliguri."

Tharoor also flagged the absence of fresh commitments on major healthcare institutions for Kerala, saying the state continues to be left out despite multiple such facilities being set up elsewhere. "The deafening silence on AIIMS for Kerala continues for yet another year. With 22 institutes established nationally, excluding a health-pioneering state like ours is baffling. Even the promise of an All-India Institute of Ayurveda remains a mirage since Kerala is not mentioned. Thiruvananthapuram’s potential as a medical hub is being systematically stifled," he wrote.

The Congress leader said the Centre had ignored Vizhinjam's strategic role in India's maritime and trade infrastructure, and criticised the lack of dedicated support. "Vizhinjam is a strategic national asset, the gateway to India's maritime trade. Yet, there is zero special allocation for its last-mile connectivity, unlike the largesse shown to ports elsewhere. To treat this as a Kerala issue rather than a national priority is a failure of strategic imagination," he said.