THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: KPCC president K Sudhakaran, on Thursday, accused the media of misreporting his reaction on K-Rail project by saying that he had never softened his stand on the project. K-Rail is an unacceptable project on several counts and finance minister KN Balagopal should stop making false claims about Centre's in-principle clearance for the project.
On Wednesday, Sudhakaran told reporters in Delhi that Congress was not against the K-Rail project and was ready to support it if the government cleared public concerns and proved that the project is beneficial to Kerala. "It's unfortunate that the media projected certain portions of my reaction, creating an impression that I took a U-turn. This is not right. I only said that Congress is not against the semi high-speed rail project. It doesn't mean that I have changed my stand. The studies commissioned by KPCC have proved that K-Rail is unrealistic and unviable. State government should stop making false claims," he told reporters in Delhi.
Sudhakaran said Centre's reply in Parliament punctured the government's repeated claims that the project had received an 'in-principle' clearance. There is no signal. Then on what basis did Balagopal claim otherwise? He should clarify," Sudhakaran added.
The KPCC chief said the need for better speed on rails can be achieved by making room for the rollout of Vande Bharat trains announced in the Budget. "If focus is on speed, let the government take steps to run Vande Bharat trains by straightening curves on rail routes and improving the signalling system. Congress is opposing the K-Rail project because it is impractical," he said.
The explanation of the KPCC president is said to be a tactical move to preempt the possibility of CPM running a counter campaign against the Congress in case the Centre rejects permission to K-Rail.
Meanwhile, the finance minister rejected Sudhakaran's claims. "The work of K-Rail was on track for the last five years. Union railway ministry had given an in-principle approval to the project on 17/12/2019. A letter from Union minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Jan 15, 2021 clarified that the state can go ahead with the plan to seek financial assistance from Jica. It said that the implementing agency (K-Rail) should obtain other necessary clearances, including the one for land acquisition. I will say that the KPCC president should stop making baseless allegations," Balagopal said on Thursday.
The FM said that the reply given by Centre in Parliament did not question any of his statements. "The final clearance is yet to be received and this is true. Centre's answer doesn't contradict any of the facts the state government has placed on record," he said.
