Congress' Satheesan says Won't allow 'only for elite class' SilverLine project in Kerala

Leader of Opposition in the Kerala Assembly V D Satheesan on Saturday, January 1, said that the SilverLine project is only for the elite class and so the United Democratic Front (UDF) will not support the project. The opposition leader alleged that the Kerala government did not hold any discussions on the semi high-speed rail system.

Stating that CPIM central committee had taken a strong stand against the Ahmedabad bullet train project, VD Satheesan said, "CPIM general secretary has informed it is an elite project and will not help the poor."

"If the government is concentrating on the mega project, then the CPIM must clear their stand on the Centre's bullet train project," he added. 

SilverLine project

Kerala's SilverLine project is a semi-high-speed railway system aimed at reducing travel time between the state’s northernmost tip, Kasargod district, and Thiruvananthapuram in the south, a distance of nearly 600km. 

Earlier in July, CM Pinarayi Vijayan had met with the Union Minister of Railways, Ashwini Vaishnaw, and discussed the proposed Angamaly-Sabari railway line, light metro rail projects at Thiruvananthapuram and Kozhikode. 

Chief Minister Vijayan wrote on Twitter, "K-RAIL's Silver Line will reduce travel time between Thiruvananthapuram and Kasargod to less than 4 hours. Along with Angamali - Sabari & Thalassery - Mysore lines discussed Kerala's semi-high speed rail line with Shri. @AshwiniVaishnaw Ji and requested approval for the DPR."

Kerala CM accuses Centre of ignoring SilverLine Project

Earlier on December 1, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan had said that the Centre was not considerate about the needs of the state with respect to infrastructure development projects including the SilverLine, Railway Zone, Sabari rail line, K-RAIL, Sabarimala Airport, CCJ development, operation of international airlines at CNN, and AIIMS. 

Stating that the Centre's negligence towards Kerala's developmental projects which is supported by a coalition of BJP-Extremists-INC is an insult to the spirit of cooperative federalism, CM Vijayan wrote on Twitter, "Those who torpedo the State's development should take a lesson from the previous assembly election results."

Responding to the Chief Minister's allegations, MoS Muraleedharan said in a statement, "Kerala has seen unprecedented development in terms of infrastructure projects. The SilverLine railway project will create a separate line for Kerala and the project is worth 700 crores."

(With ANI inputs)

Image: PTI, ANI