Finance Minister of Kerala, Thomas Isaac used the picture of Mahatma Gandhi’s assassination on the state’s budget speech book’s cover. While speaking to ANI, Issac said, “Definitely, it is a political statement, cover of my budget speech. It is a painting by a Malayalam artist of Mahatma Gandhi's murder scene. We are sending out a message that we will not forget who murdered Gandhi. This is important at the times when history is being re-written. There is an attempt to erase some popular memories and use National Register of Citizens (NRC) to divide the population on communal lines. Kerala will stand united.”