THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The UDF on Saturday held statewide protests against the LDF government’s flagship SilverLine rail corridor project alleging it was unscientific and impractical.
Opposition leader V D Satheesan launched the state-level protest at Ernakulam while KPCC chief K Sudhakaran inaugurated the protest in front of the Secretariat. Various UDF leaders led protests in the headquarters of 10 districts through which the project would pass.
Inaugurating the UDF march to Ernakulam collectorate, Satheesan said that the state government was planning to spend Rs 2 lakh crore for the SilverLine project even without a detailed project report (DPR). He said that the government would not be allowed to go ahead with the K-Rail project without giving answers to the queries raised by the opposition.
“If the opposition also supports these absurdities, we will have to face the trial by the masses in the future. The government is not giving answers to any of the questions raised by us. They want to acquire land, appoint consultants and take loans. Many power brokers are roaming around in the state secretariat,” Satheesan said.
“The government has already fixed the deal. But it won’t work out in Kerala,” he said. He also asked who had decided to take a loan from Japan International Cooperation Agency (Jica).
He said the UDF was united in the agitation against SilverLine. The Congress party will examine why MP Shashi Tharoor didn’t put his signature on the letter sent by the UDF MPs to the Union government against the project. “Tharoor can take time for studying the matter. But it can’t be termed as division in the UDF. What he said was that there is the need for a development culture for Kerala and he would support if the chief minister tries to remove the hurdles in the way of creating such a culture. The opposition will play a creative role,” Satheesan added.
The opposition will support the government if it decides to make Kerala an investor-friendly state and also to implement projects in a transparent manner, he said.
Inaugurating the UDF agitation before the Secretariat, KPCC president K Sudhakaran said the project was purely unscientific and the government has the moral responsibility of convincing the people about the need for this project.
“The government should not be adamant in the name of development. The development promised by the chief minister should not become a curse to the state. The SilverLine project will be a huge blow to the people. Hence, I request the government to reconsider the decision on this project,” Sudhakaran said.
(With agency inputs)
