The Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) have locked horns over Union Minister of State for External Affairs and Parliamentary Affairs V. Muraleedharan’s campaign against the SilverLine semi-high-speed railway project.
Mr. Muraleedharan, who had been blamed for violating federal principles, retorted on Sunday that the Centre would never provide assent to the project. The spat came a day after Mr. Muraleedharan was debatably left red-faced when a family who stood to lose their house for the project voiced support towards the project during his campaign.
Accusing the Left Democratic Front (LDF) of embarking on the “futile” project to enable CPI (M)-loyalists to obtain commission, the Union Minister opined that the government would do well to abandon the project in view of its inability to undertake even the social impact assessment (SIA). He said the Central government had given in-principle approval only for the preparation of a master plan.
His aggressive push against the project prompted a flurry of criticism from his political rivals. The CPI(M) State secretariat lashed out at the alleged bid to torpedo the project, the survey of which had been green-lit by the Centre. Besides, the Supreme Court had permitted the ongoing SIA. “A Union Minister’s campaign against a development project, notwithstanding such approvals, is ironic and contravened federal principles,” a statement issued here said.
Both General Education Minister V Sivankutty and Public Works Minister P.A. Mohamed Riyas charged Mr. Muraleedharan with doing little for the State’s development. Mr. Riyas also accused the Union Minister of attempting to hinder the development of the Kuthiran tunnel in Thrissur.
Mr. Muraleedharan, however, rubbished the allegation later in the day and alleged efforts had been made by the State government to delay the tunnel’s inauguration.
Mr. Muraleedharan received support from BJP State president K. Surendran who felt the CPI(M) leaders, including Mr. Sivankutty, an accused in the Assembly ruckus case, did not have the moral right to ridicule the actions of the Union Minister.
BJP Thiruvananthapuram district president V.V. Rajesh said he was willing to engage with Mr. Sivankutty in an open debate over Mr. Muraleedharan’s contributions to Kerala.
In spite of the snowballing controversy, Revenue Minister K. Rajan said the government would move ahead with the SIA.
