Thrissur: Netizens have been abuzz over which political party is behind the prolonged delay of the Lulu Mall project following remarks by Lulu Group chairman MA Yusuff Ali. He said construction had been stalled because a person linked with a political party had filed a case, without naming the party.

T.N. Mukundan, Communist Party of India (CPI) Varandarappilly local committee member and Kisan Sabha district committee member, has now clarified that his legal challenge against the project is entirely personal and not party-driven. His petition in the Kerala High Court concerns the conversion of about one acre of paddy land at Puzhakkal.

“My complaint was against the reclamation of paddy fields. Before Lulu Group purchased the property, another business group mined clay and later filled it with red soil. I filed the case then,” Mukundan explained. He added that cultivation continued until recently, verified by the agriculture officer, and complaints were filed when construction began. “The village officer issued a stop memo, and the agriculture officer’s report was submitted to the RDO and Collector,” he said.

CPI leadership distances itself

Senior CPI leader V.S. Sunil Kumar confirmed the party has no involvement and will await the court’s decision. The CPI is a key ally in the ruling CPM-led LDF.

Business implications of the delay

Earlier, MA Yusuff Ali highlighted the two-and-a-half-year delay, calling it an "unnecessary case" filed by an individual associated with a political party. Speaking at the Thrissur Management Association headquarters inauguration, he said: “In this country, if a business venture is to move forward, it will have to face various kinds of crises, and if those obstacles are removed, Lulu mall will come to Thrissur.”

The project, expected to generate around 3,000 jobs, remains stalled under legal review.