PALAKKAD: On Thursday, BJP Kerala president K Surendran announced that ‘Metroman’ E Sreedharan will join the party soon. TNIE spoke with the 88-year-old, who is credited with executing several prestigious projects in the country including the Konkan Railway, Delhi Metro and Kochi Metro, to learn about his future plans.
Q. K Surendran said you would be joining BJP. Is it true? What are the reasons for joining the party?
A. Certainly. Only the BJP can take the country forward. Kerala needs to be developed and the existing fronts (UDF and LDF) are interested only to work for the development of their respective political parties and not the state. Kerala has been lagging in development and only the BJP can give the much-needed impetus to growth. I have always longed to do something for Kerala and have taken up projects with this in mind.
Q. Will you be contesting the coming assembly elections in Kerala?
A. It is for the party to decide.
Q. But will you be ready to contest the elections if the party tells you?
A. If the party asks me, I’ll contest the elections.
Q. Will you be joining the Vijay Yatra being taken out by BJP state president K Surendran ahead of the assembly elections?
A. No. I will not be joining the Vijay Yatra.
Q. How do you rate Prime Minister Narendra Modi?
A. He is one of the best country heads the world has ever seen. What was needed was to deliver on the promises made and develop the country as a whole. He has done both of them amazingly. The major highlight of the development under Modi is that it has taken place without the evil of corruption accompanying it.