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Kerala BJP vice-president slams party support to high-speed railway system

The high-speed railway system was suggested by Metroman E Sreedharan as an alternative to the K-rail project.

Kerala BJP vice-president slams party support to high-speed railway system

[Photo: Twitter/@advssuresh]

BJP Kerala unit vice-president Shobha Surendran, who is at loggerheads with the party state leadership, has on Friday come out against party’s state president K Surendran for his support to the high-speed railway system suggested by Metroman E Sreedharan as an alternative to K rail project.

Rejecting K Surendran’s statement that the BJP will support high-speed railway system suggested by Metroman E Sreedharan, she said the BJP is not a ‘one-man army’ party and that the party’s decision-making process is not reliant on any one individual. Prime Minister Narendra Modi would not endorse any plan that goes against the interests of the people, she added.

“K Surendran’s opinion on high-speed railway system is only personal. Party’s stance on the project would be determined at the state committee meeting,” Sobha told media persons in Kozhikode.

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BJP state president K Surendran on Wednesday said the high-speed railway system suggested by Metroman E Sreedharan is essential for the state.

To mitigate criticisms over the K-rail project’s alleged impracticality, the LDF government had recently onboarded  E Sreedharan to suggest changes to the project. He submitted a note to the government on Monday.

Meanwhile, AICC general secretary KC Venugopal alleged a hidden deal between the CPI-M and the BJP over the project.He accused former Congress leader KV Thomas of acting as a bridge between PM Modi and  CM Pinarayi Vijayan.

“The moment K V Thomas and E Sreedharan held talks; the project was back on track. Doubts arose after BJP state president K Surendran also entered the picture,” Venugopal said in a Facebook post.

Former KPCC president K Muraleedharan, MP said the proposed high-speed rail aims to enhance the “political connectivity” between the CPI-M and the BJP at the Centre.

Congress leader Cherian Philip alleged that the Centre has endorsed SilverLine cloaked in a new nomenclature in reciprocation for the CPI-M’s ‘betrayal’ of CPI candidates in the Thiruvananthapuram and Thrissur Lok Sabha constituencies to advantage BJP candidates in 2024.

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