Causing embarrassment to the Opposition party in Kerala, Congress MP Shashi Tharoor praised the development outlook of Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan.
Tharoor already caused embarrassment to Congress the other day as he did not sign on a memorandum submitted by all Opposition MPs from Kerala to the Union Railway Minister against the semi high-speed rail project mooted by the Kerala government. Tharoor later clarified that he needed to study the project.
Tharoor's praise for Vijayan came during the inauguration of a mall in Thiruvananthapuram on Thursday. He said that Vijayan was trying to remove the hindrances in Kerala's development and trying to make Kerala investor-friendly. Being a person who welcomes development he would appreciate it, said Tharoor who represents Thiruvananthapuram in the Lok Sabha.
The Opposition Congress-led United Democratic Front had already announced protests against the 530-kilometre long semi high-speed rail line project across Kerala. A large section of people who fear eviction and environmentalists are also up in arms against the project citing adverse environmental impacts. Financial experts were also raising concerns about whether cash strapped Kerala could take up the project with an estimated cost of estimated cost of Rs. 64,000 crore that may even cross Rs. one lakh crore mark.
Despite the protests, the Chief Minister has been reiterating that the government would take forward the project that could bring down the travel time between the southern district of Thiruvananthapuram and the northern district of Kasargod by less than four hours, while it now takes around ten hours by road and rail now. The left-front government's stand is that the project would be a major boost to Kerala's development and would generate many job opportunities.
Watch the latest DH Videos here:
Deccan Herald is on WhatsApp Channels | Join now for Breaking News & Editor's Picks