Palakkad division bifurcation is Centre’s ‘biggest betrayal’ of Keralam: V.M. Sudheeran
Senior Congress leader demands special Assembly session and all-party delegation to meet Prime Minister.
Former Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president V.M. Sudheeran delivered a scathing rebuke to the Central government over the proposed division of the Palakkad Railway Division, alleging it as the "biggest betrayal" of Keralam in the history of Indian Railways. Sudheeran urged the Keralam Assembly to convene a special session and pass a resolution protesting the move, further demanding an all-party delegation meeting with the Prime Minister to express the State's discontent.
He argued that the exclusion of the high-revenue-generating Mangaluru region from the Palakkad Division would hinder railway development in Keralam. Sudheeran also expressed concerns over the potential cancellation of the proposed coach factory at Kanjikode in Palakkad and further reductions in the jurisdiction of the Thiruvananthapuram Railway Division.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led Union government was accused of undermining India's federal framework and weakening the established principles governing relations between the Centre and the States. Inaugurating a protest dharna in front of the Thrissur Railway Station, DCC president Advocate Joseph Tajet led the Thrissur District Congress Committee (DCC) in their opposition to the proposed division of the Palakkad Railway Division.
AICC secretary T.N. Prathapan criticized the Centre for its "stepmotherly attitude" towards Keralam, labeling the division of the Palakkad Railway Division as the latest instance of State neglect. Prathapan also targeted the BJP's lone Lok Sabha representative from Keralam for its silence on the matter and accused the Thrissur MP and Union Minister of failing to implement development projects sanctioned at a cost of ₹300 crore for the Thrissur Railway Station.
Congress leaders emphasized the serious concerns the proposed restructuring of railway divisions posed for Kerala's future railway development and called for a united political response to safeguard the State's interests.
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