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.
