New Delhi: BJP veteran and Union minister V Muraleedharan has asked the CPM-led Kerala government's special representative K V Thomas not to mislead people on the SilverLine project using his party fellow E Sreedharan’s name. “Let K V Thomas do whatever he can do sitting in Delhi. Meeting the railway minister is not a big deal,” said the union minister.

“K-Rail (SilverLine) is tainted with corruption and greed. CPM should realise that people in Kerala are well aware of the evil intentions behind the proposed railway project,” he added. 

Launching a scathing attack on K V Thomas, V Muraleedharan asked the government representative to spend his time in Delhi effectively without engaging in petty tricks for exploiting the people of Kerala.

“Being a former union minister himself, it would have been rather easy for K V Thomas to fix an appointment with Ashwini Vaishnaw. But that does not guarantee anything for the CPM government. And it's an absolute blunder to use E Sreedharan’s name for validation. The veteran engineer has already shared his apprehensions about the K-Rail project. He had even declared it as impractical,” the union minister reminded.     

Meanwhile, KPCC President K Sudhakaran stated that Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan is supposed to answer the public about all efforts taken while attempting to implement the SilverLine project in Kerala.

"Despite spending Rs 22.27 crores on a French company, the government is yet to release the Detailed Project Report (DPR). Rs 13.49 crore was spent on personnel assigned to acquire land, and Rs 20.5 crore was spent on office operations. In addition, Rs 1.48 crores were spent to lay survey stones. So far, Rs 57 crores have been spent, despite the fact that the state is in financial distress," he said.

Sudhakaran further stated that due to legal issues, the land acquired for the project from multiple people cannot be used for future purposes. Around 250 complaints were filed against thousands of people in 11 districts. Those who protested the projects have found themselves in court battling legal battles. 

The developments come at a time when talks on SilverLine alternative have been gaining momentum.