Cong leaders oppose MP’s proposal to shift Kerala capital
Congress MP Eden moved the private member’s Bill in March stating that Thiruvananthapuram, located at the southern tip of the state, was inaccessible to residents of the northern districts.
Congress MP Hibi Eden’s proposal through a private member’s Bill in the Lok Sabha to shift Kerala’s capital from Thiruvananthapuram to Ernakulam was criticised by his party, with senior leaders asking him to withdraw it.
Eden, the 40-year-old MP from Ernakulam constituency, which includes the city of Kochi, had moved the private member’s Bill in March stating that Thiruvananthapuram, located at the southern tip of the state, was inaccessible to residents of the northern districts. He sought the formation of a state capital relocation panel, which would examine the feasibility of a new capital city accessible to all residents in Ernakulam.
The MP’s proposal was widely repudiated by leaders of the Congress as well as by other parties.
Leader of the Opposition VD Satheesan, who represents the Paravur constituency in Ernakulam district, told reporters on Sunday, “Hibi is like my younger brother. When I heard about this, I immediately called him and conveyed my deepest displeasure. This is not the stand of the Congress party. It is just a private member’s Bill. I have told him to withdraw it, and there is no need for any further controversy.”
“I am a native of Kochi, but the Congress has no stand that the state capital should be moved to Kochi. There is no land for a capital city in Kochi. It is the commercial capital and contributes the highest tax in the state. But the capital should remain in Thiruvananthapuram.”
Congress Thiruvananthapuram MP Shashi Tharoor, too, distanced themself from Eden’s move, calling it illogical.
“He has every right to move a private member’s Bill, but this proposal is not grounded in logic. Not every state’s capital needs to be centrally located. Chennai is at the northern end of Tamil Nadu, and even Delhi, the capital of India, is in the north.”
The controversy around the proposal came to light when the Union government wrote to the state recently asking for its views on the matter. The Kerala government responded, stating that it was decided in 1954 that Thiruvananthapuram be chosen as the state capital, and existing circumstances still support the move. It also said that relocating the capital would incur huge financial expenditures.
Senior Communist Party of India (Marxist) or CPI (M) leader and industries minister P Rajeeve said that Eden’s proposal cleared that he will contest Ernakulam in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
“Even his party leaders have conceded that it is an immature and impractical idea. It only leads to a useless discussion. Hibi took a stand to meet his election goals,” he told reporters.
The Ernakulam MP, currently abroad, was unavailable for comment.
