While Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president M M Hassan and leader of Opposition Ramesh Chennithala have voiced the party’s clear opposition to the project, former chief minister Oommen Chandy is in favour of it.

The KPCC chief is of the firm view that the project would cause immense damage to the State’s ecology. Therefore, any project that would have an adverse impact on ecology should not be allowed. Hassan has come down heavily on Power Minister M M Mani’s statement that the Government is keen to go ahead with the project.

Likewise, Ramesh Chennithala has identified himself with the opinion voiced by the KPCC president. The LDF Government’s move to give the green signal to the project was against the interests of the State and should, therefore, be vehemently opposed, Chennithala said.

However, Oommen Chandy has chosen to disagree with his party colleagues. The former CM said a hasty decision against the project would harm the state, which, he said, is badly in need of new projects in view of the serious power shortage plaguing the state.

Needless to say, Chandy’s stance, which is sharply at variance with the party’s official stand, has taken the state Congress leadership by surprise. Chandy has received support from another senior colleague, K, Muraleedharan, MLA. Murali is on record that efforts should be made to implement the project through consensus, and a hasty decision to abandon it should be avoided.

The Left Democratic Front (LDF) Government has, however, scoffed at the Congress stand, which is at odds with the party’s stance on the issue while it was in power.

It may be mentioned that that it was the Oommen Chandy Government which took the initiative to promote the Athirapalli project while it was in power. The then Power Minister and senior Congress leader Aryadan Mohammed was an ardent advocate of the project.

That being the reality, for the Congress to oppose the project now amounts to double standards. That is the crux of the LDF argument. It has exposed the hypocrisy and political expediency of the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) on the issue, the LDF claimed.

Meanwhile, the firm stand taken by the Congress ally, Indian Union Muslim League (IUML), on the issue has come as a big relief to the party, which has been embarrassed by the divergent stand taken by Oommen Chandy and Muralidharan. The IUML leadership has taken the stand that nothing should be done to damage the fragile ecology of the state.

Significantly, the LDF itself is not united on the issue. The CPI, the biggest ally of the CPI(M) in the LDF coalition, has opposed the project right from the beginning. CPI state secretary Kanam Rajendran has gone on record several times, voicing his firm opposition to the controversial project.

In view of such opposition, it would be difficult for the Pinarayi Vijayan Government to go ahead with the project. It must be noted that even the Power Minister has now realised that hasty decisions would not be good. MM Mani is singing a different tune now: the government would go ahead with the project only if there is a clear consensus in its favour! (IPA Service)