Fronts claim credit for Kollam bypass

MP says PM will inaugurate the road on January 15

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to inaugurate the Kollam bypass on January 15.

The row over the Kollam bypass has hotted up with N.K. Premachandran, MP, confirming that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the road on January 15.

Mr. Modi will reach Kollam from Thiruvananthapuram by helicopter around 5.20 p.m. for the inauguration slated at 5.30 p.m., said a statement by the MP here on Tuesday.

₹277-crore project

As the ₹277-crore project connecting Kavanad and Mevaram neared completion, all the three political fronts in the State had come forward claiming the credit for the bypass, leading to allegations and counter-allegations.

Though the information of PM’s visit to attend a party event was officially communicated to the State government on Monday, there was no clarity about his itinerary.

Public Works Minister G. Sudhakaran had earlier announced that Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan will inaugurate the bypass on February 2 and the Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] leadership feels that the Prime Minister deciding to open the road without any State invitation is a politically motivated move in view of the upcoming Parliament elections.

While Bharatiya Janata Party State general secretary K. Surendran said Mr. Premachandran cannot claim any credit in the construction of the bypass, CPI(M) district secretary S. Sudevan said it was an unethical move on the part of the MP showing his subservience to the BJP.

Hogwash

Meanwhile, Kollam District Congress Committee president Bindu Krishna said CPI(M) leaders attacking Mr. Premachandran was nothing but hogwash.

The construction of the Kollam bypass started when K. Krishnakumar was Union Minister and, later, it was former MP N. Peethambara Kurup who restarted the construction works after a long gap.

‘LDF delayed it’

It was the United Democratic Front Ministry headed by Oommen Chandy which sanctioned half of the fund for the project and Mr. Premachandran had played a crucial role in completing the project.

She alleged that the LDF government had tried to sabotage the inauguration by delaying it.

“They wanted to hide Mr. Premachandran’s contributions and planned the inauguration in February,’’ she said.