The SilverLine (K-Rail) protests, backed by the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), panned out across Kerala for the fourth consecutive day on Thursday.
The increasingly strident resistance to the semi-high-speed railway project also reverberated in New Delhi with the local police ‘roughing up’ United Democratic Front (UDF) MPs who marched to the Parliament demanding that the Centre cancel the ‘quixotic’ project.
Leader of Opposition V. D. Satheesan and KPCC president K. Sudhakaran, MP, alleged that the police action against UDF leaders indicated a tacit understanding between the CPI(M) and the BJP to implement K-Rail. They condemned the New Delhi police’s ‘highhandedness.’
The Opposition MPs later railed against SilverLine in the Lok Sabha. Union Minister of State for External Affairs V. Muraleedharan told the Rajya Sabha that the Kerala government had misled the public by falsely claiming that SilverLine had Central sanction.
In contrast, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan sounded upbeat after meeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi to get the Centre's clearance for the project. He later tweeted:" Called on the@PMO India Shri. Narendra Modi Ji today. Discussed various aspects of the SilverLine project in detail. Informed him that the project was essential for Kerala's progress. He offered all possible support. Thank you, Prime Minister".
Appeal in SC
K-Rail also figured in the Supreme Court. A litigant from Aluva, identified as Sunil J. Arakalan moved the apex court against the Kerala High Court's order sanctioning the placement of concrete markers on private land as part of K-Rail's social impact study.
Cliff House security breach
In Thiruvananthapuram, six Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha workers scaled the wall of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan's official residence at Cliff House. The Yuva Morcha workers videographed the protest and posted it on social media. They remained unchallenged in the compound for a significant time. The Chief Minister in New Delhi.
The activists planted a K-Rail marker on the high-security precincts. Their action caught the police and Cliff House security off guard. The government has reportedly ordered an inquiry into the security breach. Environmentalists led by Medha Patkar staged a sit-in front of the Secretariat against K-Rail.
Local people backed by the Opposition prevented revenue officials from planting K-Rail markers at Nattassery, Kuzhiyillapadi, and Madappally in Kottayam. UDF leaders Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan and Saji Manjakadamban led the protests. The anti-SilverLine agitators in Kottayam said they would post permanent protest pickets in congested localities in the district.
In Thrissur, Youth Congress workers scaled the wall of the district collectorate and planted K-Rail markers. They later clashed with the police. Several persons were injured in the melee. DCC president Jose Vallur led the protests. Later, Congress workers laid siege to the Town Police station demanding the release of their detained comrades. The police have booked at least 100 party workers in connection with the violence.
The police used water cannons, tear gas canisters, and batons to disperse Congress workers who attempted to storm the Kozhikode collectorate. KPCC vice president T. Siddique, MLA, led the protest. Both Congress and BJP are poised to intensify the anti-SilverLine struggle in the coming days. The CPI(M) has launched a counter-propaganda campaign supporting the scheme. Mr. Vijayan promised to expose the conspiracists subverting the State's development pitch.
