THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Former Chief Minister Oommen Chandy who did not get a proper invitation to the launch of Kochi Metro, despite completing 90 percent of its work during his tenure, is taking his first journey on the train on Tuesday. He will be accompanied by Opposition Leader Ramesh Chennithala and UDF MLAs from Aluva to Palarivattom at 3 pm. The launch had snowballed into a major controversy when initially the opposition leader was not invited to share the dais along with Prime Minister Narendra Modi at its inaugural.
After the Chief Minister’s office had intervened, Mr Chennithala was included on the list. But there was widespread criticism after Mr Chandy who was instrumental in getting the dream project on track was sidelined. There was a general feeling among the Congress leaders that a leader of Mr Chandy’s stature should not be allowed to sit in the crowd and instead the CM’s office should have intervened and ensured that. “Mr Chandy is not at all peeved with either the Kochi Metro Rail Corporation or with the LDF government. He is happy that the inaugural session went off well despite the initial hiccups,” said a Congress MLA.
Local legislator P. T. Thomas was also denied a seat on the dais. He sat among the crowd and expressed his displeasure.
On Sunday, Mr Chennithala also told reporters that he was not for any controversy. “We were not invited for the first ride. Kochi Metro was a dream project of Kerala, and 90 percent of it was completed during the tenure of Oommen Chandy. The UDF is not for any controversy,” he said. However, he made a hasty retreat when asked about BJP state chief Kummanam Rajashekaran’s Metro ride with the Prime Minister.
