Thiruvananthapuram: A day after Congress MP Hibi Eden's strange demand to relocate Kerala's capital to Kochi, Opposition leader V D Satheesan asserted that Congress never discussed such a matter. He noted that the party never wanted Kochi to be Kerala's capital. Taking a dig at Hibi Eden, the opposition leader clarified that Hibi moved the bill without consulting the party.
Addressing the media here on Sunday, Satheesan stated that the party leadership has asked Hibi to withdraw the bill.
The Congress leader declared that the matter will not be discussed anymore.
“ Hibi Eden is my favourite and like a young brother to me. When I noticed the news, I contacted him immediately and informed the party's dissatisfaction over the move. Hibi's decision is not the party's stance. He has moved a private bill. Party has asked him to withdraw it immediately. There is no need to create any controversy over it. Earlier, there was a demand to establish a High Court bench in Thiruvananthapuram. Hibi has raised a similar demand. Party don't think it is a good move,” said Satheesan.
“ I'm also from Kochi. But Congress never wanted to name Kochi as the capital of Kerala. Thiruvananthapuram is a very good place. I don't think Kochi has enough space for a capital city. Kochi is a very small city and it is already crowded. So, there is no need to change the capital,” added Satheesan.
Hibi, a Congress MP from Ernakulam, had moved the private Bill during the Parliament session in March this year. Subsequently, the Union Home Ministry sought the opinion of the Left Democratic Front (LDF) government led by the CPM in Kerala on the matter.
In its letter, the Union Home Ministry wanted the state government to take an immediate decision on the MP’s demand in order to proceed with further measures.
However, the state government rejected Hibi’s demand outright. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan took the stand that the suggestion was impractical and made a note to this effect in the file.
