Congress leader Shashi Tharoor, MP, appears to have endorsed the United Democratic Front (UDF)'s official line that the Centre's budgetary allocation for 400 modern Vande Bharat trains has rendered the Left Democratic Front (LDF)'s flagship K-Rail (SilverLine) semi-high-speed rail project redundant.
In a tweet, Mr. Tharoor said: “Bringing #VandeBharat trains to Kerala could address @vijayanpinarayi’s concern for speedy train travel to promote development, & alleviate @INCKerala’s concerns about land acquisition & environmental impact. GOI & GOK should discuss a win-win outcome in the interests of the state.”
Leader of the Opposition V.D. Satheesan had taken a comparable position on Tuesday.
Mr. Tharoor's remark came against the backdrop of television news reports that the Centre appeared disinclined to clear the project. A written reply from Union Minister for Railways Ashwini Vaishnav, to a question posed by N.K. Premachandran, MP, of the RSP, a UDF ally, in the Lok Sabha had triggered the reports.
The Minister said the Centre was vetting the "techno-economic" viability of the proposed ₹64,000-crore mega infrastructure project.
Mr. Tharoor later told reporters in New Delhi that he was unsure if the Vande Bharat train services would materialise despite the announcement in the Union Budget.
Last year, Mr. Tharoor had caused a stir by declining to sign a petition demanding that the Centre shelve K-Rail. Eighteen Opposition MPs had signed the plea. Mr. Tharoor's office had said then that the MP was reviewing the project to form an informed opinion.
Mr. Tharoor's perceived pro-SilverLine stance arguably put a dampener on the UDF's State-wide agitation against K-Rail. His "tacit approval" of the K-Rail project also gave ammunition to the ruling front to disparage the UDF's opposition to the scheme.
Mr. Tharoor also drew flak from Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee president K. Sudhakaran for putting the party in a spot.
Meanwhile, BJP State president K. Surendran said SilverLine would remain Mr. Vijayan's "daydream". The Centre had expressed strong scepticism about the quixotic project and was unlikely to sanction the scheme.
