Leader of the Opposition V. D. Satheesan on Thursday accused Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan of misleading the public by stating that the government had discussed the K-Rail (SilverLine) project in the Assembly.
Mr. Satheesan said the government had rejected the UDF’s plea to conduct a two-hour discussion about the semi-high-speed railway project.
Mr. Vijayan had found time to discuss the scheme with a select group of persons. However, he had rejected a UDF adjournment motion on the contentious venture, said the Opposition Leader.
Mr. Satheesan urged the government to shed its “obstinacy” and convene a special session of the Assembly to debate the pros and cons of K-Rail.
Mr. Vijayan had repeatedly claimed that the government had nothing to hide about SilverLine. However, he had inexplicably prevented the administration from releasing the K-Rail’s detailed project report (DPR), he said.
Mr. Satheesan said the government’s push to acquire land for the project without conducting a social, economic or environmental impact study was mysterious. It seemed the government had something to conceal.
The SilverLine project was non-transparent. It had sowed doubts in the minds of the public. The government owed the public a full picture. It could not arbitrarily burden the public with an estimated “multi-lakh crore” project without taking the people into confidence, he added.
