CPI, Congress lock horns over Aranmula airport project
Political tensions have flared between the CPI and Congress in Kerala over the potential revival of the Aranmula airport project. While the CPI opposes the project citing environmental and procedural concerns, local Congress leaders maintain support for the infrastructure development.
Why it matters
The dispute highlights the recurring conflict between infrastructure development and environmental conservation in regional Indian politics.
The war of words over the possible revival of the Aranmula airport project intensified on Saturday, with the Congress and the Communist Party of India (CPI) locking horns over the proposal.
The episode began with CPI leader P. Prasad, who served as Agriculture Minister in the previous Left Democratic Front government, warning of a strong agitation if the State government moved ahead with the project. “Land mafias, who had remained unseen in Kerala for the past decade, have now resurfaced under the protection of those in power,” he said. Any attempt to sound the death knell for the polders of Aranmula would be met with stiff resistance, he added.
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