Leader of the Opposition V.D. Satheesan has said that Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan displays an elitist attitude in his “vain attempt” to drum up support for the K-Rail (SilverLine) project.
Instead of interacting with the masses, Mr. Vijayan had circumscribed his outreach to a set of corporate yes-men, Mr. Satheesan told reporters here on Tuesday.
The Chief Minister had rejected the Opposition’s demand for a special Assembly session to debate the proposal threadbare. He said the United Democratic Front (UDF) would go to the people to explain how the semi-high speed railway line would run the State to ruin.
The scheme was environmentally and economically unviable. It would impose an irredeemable debt on the people. “Those displaced by the proposed line would perhaps receive compensation. But, the final sufferer is the State as a whole. People want the State and not the self-defeating K-Rail,” he said.
The Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)], which swore by class struggle, had emerged as a protector of the interests of the rich after it assumed power in the State. CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury had opposed the Ahmedabad-Mumbai bullet train that served only the business elite.
If the government agreed, the UDF would suggest an affordable, rail-based mass rapid transport system that would ferry passengers from Thiruvananthapuram to Kasaragod in five hours at less than half the cost of K-Rail.
‘Minister should quit’
Mr. Satheesan said Higher Education Minister R. Bindu should resign for overstepping her constitutional bounds and writing two letters to Governor Arif Mohammed Khan demanding that the Chancellor extend the term of the Kannur University Vice Chancellor beyond the retirement age. Ms. Bindu had also urged Mr. Khan to disband the select committee for choosing a new Vice Chancellor.
On his part, the Governor should rectify his ratification of Ms. Bindu’s demand instead of complaining about government interference in university matters. He should seek the Vice Chancellor’s resignation or oust him. Mr. Khan could not avoid discharging his duties as Chancellor until or unless the Assembly removed him by an act of law.
Awarding an honorary D.Litt to the President of India was not a private matter between the Governor and the Vice Chancellor. Ideally, Mr. Khan should have put up the demand as a legal proposal so the university senate could take a call.
Police run amok
Mr. Satheesan said the State police had run amok. The CPI(M) controlled the police. The party decided on postings. Officers had no respect for the official hierarchy. With the CPI(M)’s backing, many errant officers had avoided disciplinary action.
CPI(M) State secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan had urged the pro-party police association office-bearers to insert “party persons” into the post of General Diary (GD) officers at station houses to keep out Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh influence in law-and-order matters.
