Thiruvananthapuram: 'Metroman' E Sreedharan on Sunday said he was ready to take up any responsibility given to him by the BJP.
Speaking at a rally being attended by Union Home Minister Amit Shah, at Shangumugham in state capital, Sreedharan said he wanted to utilise his energy for the state of Kerala.
"For the last 67 years I was a government servant. Many people have asked me why I ventured into politics after these many years. For 67 years, I worked as part of many projects for this country."
"I am still energetic and want to utilise my energy for the state of Kerala. Whatever responsibility is given to me I will take it up with all courage and energy," Sreedharan said at the concluding function of 'Vijay Yatra' taken out by BJP state president K Surendran from Kasaragod to Thiruvananthapuram, ahead of the April 6 assembly polls.
Shah also wrapped a shawl around Sreedharan welcoming him into the party fold. The technocrat, who is all set to contest the assembly polls on a BJP ticket, had recently resigned from the post of DMRC's Principal Advisor.
Sreedharan, 88, now a member of the BJP state Election Committee, said he has requested the party leadership to field him from a constituency not far from his residence in Ponnani in Malappuram district.
Earlier, Sreedharan had said he will be ready to take up chief ministership, if the party comes to power in Kerala.
Following this, Surendran and Union Minister V Muraleedharan had also pitched the senior technocrat as party's chief minister candidate. However, they, later, clarified that the party has not taken a call on the matter.
Sreedharan, the architect of the Delhi Metro, had formally joined the BJP on February 25 in the presence of Union Minister R K Singh at a function at Changaramkulam in Malappuram district when the 'Vijay Yatra' led by Surendran reached there.
Sreedharan is also a part of BJP's 16-member state election committee for the upcoming assembly elections.
In the 2016 elections, the saffron party, had won only one seat in the 140-member assembly.
Meanwhile, Shah was all praise for the 88-year old former technocrat,who was part of various development projects in the country.
"I would like to say a few words about Sreedhranji. An engineer and a teacher, who was part of various developmental projects. He is known as Metroman because he constructed the first Metro in the country. But we cannot ignore his engineering marvel- the Konkan Railway- which connected southern India to the rest of the country in a rapid manner," Shah said.
"I am already 56. Many times, I have felt that it's time to stop. But even at his age, Sreedharanji is energetic and ready to work for this country. I would like to salute him. The infrastructure developer, Metroman has decided to join BJP for the nation building," Shah added.
Well-known Malayalam actor Devan, who merged his Kerala People's Party with BJP, was also present at the massive rally.
(With PTI inputs)
