Thiruvananthapuram: Raising a serious allegation against the Opposition leader, Nilambur MLA P V Anvar on Wednesday alleged that IT companies paid Rs 150 crore to Congress leader V D Satheesan to sabotage the SilverLine project, the state government's ambitious semi-speed rail corridor.
Had the SilverLine project been implemented, the infrastructure in Kerala would have been upgraded quickly. There would have been more investment and job opportunities in the IT sector, he said.
Anvar alleged that the IT sector paid the opposition leader to sabotage SilverLine so that their investments in other states would not go to waste. Meanwhile, the Speaker told the assembly that the inappropriate language used by Anvar during his speech would be removed from the record.
“K-Rail was the flagship project of the Left government. Had the project been implemented, Kerala would have developed to international standards. The progress the state would have achieved in 25 years would have been possible in five years. There was a huge financial conspiracy to sabotage the project,” Anvar said.
“Lack of availability of land is a problem in Kerala. To overcome this, the government went ahead with the SilverLine project. The Opposition did not object to it in the first phase. They demanded compensation for the landowners. Later, Satheesan took a stand that he would not let the government implement the project under any circumstances. In the 2021 assembly elections, the opposition presented the project as a form of terror. Satheesan played an important role in it.
“IT companies were ready to spend any amount of money to defeat the LDF in the elections. Satheesan received Rs 150 crore as election fund – Rs 50 crore each in container lorries and the money was brought to Chettuva beach in Thrissur in three stages. From there, the money was evacuated to Satheesan's friends' place in two ambulances. This money was invested in Karnataka. The opposition leader's travel documents should be checked. He has been to Bengaluru at least three times in a month. He received Rs 25 crore before the Thrikkakara by-election. All this should be investigated,” Avar said.
