Stage dharna at Kerala CM’s office for railway project, Vaishnaw advises Tharoor

Congress MP Shashi Tharoor can sit on a dharna, if required, for acquiring land for a railway project in Kerala, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw suggested in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday. Tharoor later expressed surprise on Vaishnaw’s remark and described it as “extraordinary” in a post on X.

Vaishnaw’s comments came while replying to a question on the Nemom Railway Terminal project in Thiruvananthapuram, the home constituency of the senior Congress leader.

During Question Hour, the Congress leader had mentioned delay and insufficient funds for the project, which can help decongest the railway line to Thiruvananthapuram Central. In response, Vaishnaw said the government’s focus was to make sure big cities and junctions are decongested, new terminals are built and that a lot of emphasis is given on designing them so that the demands and requirements of next 50 years are met.

“Is is not a question of funds in Kerala. We have already deposited ?2,150 crore for acquiring land...I would request Shashi Tharoor, who is a very influential MP, to sit on a dharna, if required, in front of the state government and make sure that the land is acquired,” Vaishnaw said.

Later reacting to the minister’s “suggestion”, Tharoor posted on X: “The minister’s response was extraordinary. He stated that despite media reports to the contrary, the issue was not of finance but land acquisition, which is the failure of the state government, and he recommended that I go and conduct a dharna in front of the Kerala CM’s office! My colleagues and I were somewhat taken aback by this advice.”