Vijayan Breaks his Silence, Attacks Oppn on K-Rail & Dismisses Yogi’s Statements

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM:
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Tuesday broke his silence over a few contentious issues, including the K-Rail project and the statements made by Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.

Vijayan was speaking in the state Assembly, which began on Monday.

The Congress led opposition and the BJP for a while have been raising the controversial K-Rail- Silverline proposed project. They claim that it will not only destroy the environment but also is not a feasible project considering its cost of implantation which is expected to be in excess of Rs one lakh crore.

“I do not know why those who first charted a similar project to this are now strongly opposing this project. The stage is such that if Kerala needs to go forward at a fast pace, travel should also take place in the faster mode and the best option for it is K-Rail as there is no other alternative,” said Vijayan.

The second issue that he touched upon was related to the statement made by Yogi Adityanath, his counterpart in Uttar Pradesh. On two different occasions early this month, Yogi warned the electorate that their votes will decide the future of the state. “The state could soon become a Kashmir, Bengal or Kerala if mistakes were made. Many good things have taken place in five years. (Vote correctly or) the work from all these five years will be ruined. Uttar Pradesh could become Kashmir, Kerala and Bengal. This is a time for big decisions,” Yogi had said, while campaigning.

To this Vijayan said the reply to this statement of Yogi has been made by leaders like Akhilesh Yadav and others. “With regards to a political reply, I am not going into that,” said Vijayan.

The third issue that he touched upon was regarding the statements made by Kerala’s first female IPS and first director general of police R.Sreelekha who retired in December 2020.

In a recent interview to a vernacular TV channel, she said that it’s is a tough time for female police officials in the job and explained her own problems. She said in the first 10 years of her service she found it very tough because of her being a woman.

“I know if I was a male officer, I would not have had to undergo such hardships and at one point of time I even thought of quitting,” said Sreelekha.

To this Vijayan said she has not told when and where this happened. “In my tenure (since 2016) she has met me but has not told me anything,” said Vijayan.

The month-long Budget Session of the Kerala Assembly began on Monday. The Budget would be presented by Finance Minister K.N. Balagopal on March 11.