THIRUVANANTHAPURAM : The UDF, which got an upper hand in the initial phase of campaigning in the Thrikkakara bypoll by announcing its candidate first, now claims that Uma Thomas’ victory has been assured with the LDF government backtracking on laying survey stones for the SilverLine semi high-speed rail project.
The leaders say their vigorous campaign had forced the government to take the decision that has also exposed the “fake development agenda” of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan. The UDF, however, will continue its protest until the 500-plus cases registered against the anti-K-Rail agitators are withdrawn.
When Pinarayi inaugurated the LDF’s political convention at Thrikkakara last week, he announced, “K-Rail will come. No doubt about that.” The UDF leaders then latched on to this statement in their campaigning in Thrikkakara highlighting that the LDF’s development agenda would only bring hardships to the people.
Senior Congress leader and MP Benny Behanan, who is spearheading the UDF’s campaign in Thrikkakara for Uma Thomas, told TNIE that Pinarayi who had had maintained that the SilverLine project would be implemented at any cost has since toned his stand down. “Pinarayi has understood that it is not easy to lay survey stones in the face of the strong disapproval by protestors. Within a week of campaigning in Thrikkakara, he has realised that the local displeasure cannot be ignored,” said Behanan who had represented Thrikkakara in the assembly during 2011-16.
The UDF camp is jubilant that the pro-Left Kerala Shastra Sahitya Parishad has termed the SilverLine project as pro-rich. The High Court single bench is slated to pronounce its verdict soon on petitions filed against the survey stone laying. Before that, the LDF government decided to go in for a GPS-enabled survey.
‘Book Sudhakaran for comments against CM’
Kochi: LDF convener E P Jayarajan has said that Congress state president K Sudhakaran humiliated Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan through his statement and a case should be registered against him for his remarks. “Sudhakaran’s statement was a humiliation to the entire Kerala society. The Congress state president is attempting to vitiate the peaceful atmosphere in Thrikkakara,” Jayarajan said here on Tuesday. While campaigning for UDF in Thrikkakara, Sudhakaran had said that Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan stopped the stone-laying of K-Rail in view of the byelection. Sudhakaran asked if the LDF government will shelve the K-Rail project if the UDF wins the Thrikkakara bypoll. He dared the CM to face the byelection on that condition.
CPM: Remark aimed at polluting political culture
T’Puram: The CPM leadership has urged people to protest against Congress state president K Sudhakaran’s statement against Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan. The Thrikkakara byelection result will show that Kerala will not support such a political culture, said the CPM leadership. In a statement issued here on Tuesday, the CPM state secretariat alleged that K Sudhakaran’s remark is aimed at polluting the state’s political culture. The Left front has been making major political gains in Thrikkakkara with the state government’s developmental initiatives. The UDF, on the other hand, is finding it hard to politically defend the Left, said the CPM leadership.