Kochi: A proposal made by young Congress leader and Ernakulam MP Hibi Eden to shift Kerala’s capital from Thiruvananthapuram to his constituency has landed the party in trouble it never anticipated.
Hibi made the proposal to relocate the capital to Kochi in a private member’s bill he reportedly presented in Parliament in March. It became news three months later as the Ministry of Home Affairs forwarded it to the state government seeking the latter’s opinion. The CPM-led state government, rather unsurprisingly, rejected the proposal outright calling it impractical.
Hibi’s major reasoning for the relocation is anyone’s guess – Ernakulam is in the central part of Kerala and is more accessible to the people of the northern districts also. While it is still unclear what prompted the Congress MP to make what sounds like a strange demand, the rival CPM has found in it a political weapon.
Hibi’s apparent ‘son of the soil’ posturing has left the Congress answerable in the south, especially the capital district. Congress’ political rivals have already started a campaign in Thiruvananthapuram that the party wants the capital city relocated.
The Congress state leadership is yet to respond to the controversy while Thiruvananthapuram MP Shashi Tharoor has termed it “wholly without merit”. According to a National Herald report, Tharoor said “It appears strange that the central government has written to the state government based on a Private Member's Bill.”
Adoor Prakash, Congress MP from the Attingal LS segment in Thiruvananthapuram, also flagged the impracticality of Hibi’s proposal. He said there was no discussion on the matter at his party.
A young leader from Thiruvananthapuram told Onmanorama that Hibi’s proposal was unwarranted and untimely. “It has already become a tool for the CPM to attack us even though it’s not a party decision. A leader of Hibi’s experience should not have made such regional posturing,” the leader said. He said it was evident that the Ernakulam MP failed to foresee the political ramifications of such a move.
He said Hibi’s proposal and the state government’s opposition to it have already become a hot topic of WhatsApp discussions in Thiruvananthapuram.
Ernakulam district Congress leadership said it was not aware of why the parliamentarian made such a serious proposal without consulting the party. “We don’t know under what circumstances did the MP make such a move. We will discuss it with him and the party leadership,” District Congress Committee president Muhammed Shiyas told Onmanorama.
Another young leader, based in Ernakulam, was highly critical of what he termed ‘political naivety’ by Hibi. He said the move reflected Hibi’s insecurity within the party. “It looks like he was only concerned about making a statement that appeals to the people of his constituency. He did not bother to think about the impact it will have on the party in Thiruvananthapuram,” the leader said.
