NEW DELHI: Kerala has approached the Supreme Court seeking to stop the Centre from interfering in such a way strangling the state financially. It also demanded the apex court to declare such amendments unconstitutional.

According to Kerala, the directives made applicable by the Centre, including in matters such as restriction on borrowing limit, should be stayed. It also stated that the Centre was encroaching on the economic autonomy of Kerala. The state said that the Centre was making attempts to control the economic process through executive action. It also expressed fears that even treasury operations will be disrupted because of this.

Rs 26,226 crore is urgently needed to overcome the severe financial crisis, Chief Secretary V Venu pointed out in the petition submitted through government advocate CK Shashi. The Centre should give permission to collect this money.

The petition stated that the state government suffered a cumulative expenditure loss of Rs 1,07,513.09 crore from 2016 to 2023. The petition was prepared on the basis of the legal advice of senior advocates Fali S Nariman and Kapil Sibal.