Thiruvananthapuram: Giving clarification on the government decision to levy tolls on roads constructed by KIIFB at a cost exceeding ₹50 crore, former Finance Minister T M Thomas Isaac said the CPM’s opposition to tolls is now a thing of the past. He stated that the Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board (KIIFB) is the real battleground against the Centre, and the tolls are simply a response to the Union Government’s criticism of KIIFB.

“The joint model proposed by the UDF and BJP for KIIFB has now collapsed. They’re scrambling to tweak that model to find a way out,” Isaac said. “That’s precisely why they are saying now that those who once opposed tolls are now coming up with it and that they might call it a 'user fee' to sugar-coat it, but it’s the same old toll by another name.”

Isaac further noted that the UDF is making threats under different labels. “Let them do what they want. This is a fight, not a quest for virtue. The Centre is constantly trying to throw hurdles in our way, and we’re figuring out how to overcome them,” he concluded during the press conference.