Ahead of his entry into the BJP, ‘Metro Man’’ E. Sreedharan courted controversy by calling Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan an “autocrat” and evoking a sharp reaction from the CPM leadership. Sreedharan said it would be a tragedy if Left Democratic Front (LDF) were to come back to power again in Kerala after the Assembly polls scheduled to be held soon.
In an interview with a regional channel, the wellknown engineer, who is set to join BJP next week, said the Chief Minister was depending on the flawed advice of bureaucrats.
Sreedharan heaped praise on the Opposition Congress-led United Democratic Front. He said former chief minister Oommen Chandy was highly regarded. Chandy, Ramesh Chennithala, Aryadan Mohammad and P.K. Kunhalikutty wanted good to happen to the state, he said.
He said Vijayan’s LDF government had blocked important projects. “They opposed the Nilambur-Nanjangud railway line which pained me. In place of Nilambur-Nanjangud , they wanted the Thalassery-Mysore railway project.”
Sreedharan said he was expecting to be nominated either from Palakkad or Malappuram. “I am contesting to become a part of the government ,” he said and added that there was a branding of BJP as a communal party and this image needs to be changed.
The CPM reacted sharply to Sreedharan’s comment against the Chief Minister. “He may be a good engineer but unfortunately he has no sense of history. A person who is calling Kerala Chief Minister autocratic, is joining a party whose credentials are well known,” the party said.
