Taking the opposition UDF by surprise, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan agreed to halt major Assembly proceedings for two hours on March 14 to discuss the SilverLine project. This will be the first time that the controversial semi high speed rail project will be discussed in the Assembly. 

On Monday, Congress MLA P C Vishnunath had raised the issue of the growing public protests against the Silver Line project as an adjournment motion. The usual practice is for the government to reject the motion after allowing the person who moved the motion and the opposition leader their say. This time, for a change, Pinarayi agreed to a comprehensive debate. 

Last year, when an adjournment motion was moved in the Assembly on the issue, the Chief Minister had rejected the demand for a discussion. After that, to allay apprehensions, the Chief Minister had held special Silver Line sessions with invited VIP guests, 'paurapramukhar', in various parts of the state. 

This was widely condemned on the ground that the project affected were invited to none of these meetings. The opposition had also challenged the Chief Minister to an open debate. 

The opposition has serious concerns about the project cost, environmental impact, long-term viability and the suitability of the standard gauge technology. 

All these issues are expected to be debated in the Assembly on Monday from 1 p. m yo 3 p. m. This will also be the first time that the Chief Minister will publicly engage in a debate on the Silver Line project, which he had consistently maintained was the need of the hour.