The Indian National Congress will intensify its agitation against the controversial Semi High Speed Silver Line Project of the Kerala Government from Friday. “This is the most anti-people, anti-environment and anti-ecology project which has been undertaken by a ruling dispensation in this State.
There is conspiracy by the CPI(M), Sangh Parivar and certain corporates to get this project implemented irrespective of the concerns of the people,” said V D Satheeshan, Leader of the Opposition in Kerala.
Speaking to media persons within minutes of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan’s press meet at New Delhi after the latter’s meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Satheeshan said the chief minister has not said anything new about the project. “His claim that the project would be executed at a cost of Rs 64,000 crore is simply nonsense. The NITI Aayog in its report has said that the project would cost Rs 2.5 lakh crore. How Vijayan reached the figure of Rs 64,000 crore is anybody’s guess,” said Satheeshan who looked upset and annoyed over the statements made by the chief minister.
He said that the Kerala Government is slapping fake and baseless cases against those who oppose the Silver Line project that links Thiruvananthapuram and Kasaragod in less than four hours. “The chief minister accuses the opposition parties of hand in glove with terrorist organisations and communalists in sabotaging the project. It is because of his lack of confidence in himself that Vijayan is resorting to this kind of propaganda,” said Satheeshan.
The Chief Minister while briefing the media after his 30 minutes long meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi had blamed the opposition parties for undermining the development activities in Kerala. “This is a project for the CPI(M) and its leaders to amass wealth. The technology they are using to import is literally scrap and is not used anywhere in the world. A project of this magnitude should undergo environmental and sociological impact.
The Detailed Project Report of the Silver Line Rail is nothing but bunch of non-sense,” said Satheeshan.
Speaking to The Pioneer, Mohammed Shias, the young DCC President of Ernakulam, who is in the forefront of the agitation, said that the Congress would not allow the Government to go ahead with the laying of survey stones. “we don’t know why the Government is adamant in laying the survey stones when neither the DPR nor the SIA are ready. There are a number of issues which the Government is trying to cover up from the public,” said Shias.
Even while thanking the Prime Minister for giving him a patient hearing, Vijayan blamed the unholy alliance between the Congress and the BJP to derail the project.