A delegation headed by Kerala chief minister VS Achuthanandan, which met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and railway minister Lalu Yadav, claimed on Sunday that they got assurance from the Centre that boundary of the proposed Salem division would be redrawn. The Prime Minister?s move has signalled a ceasefire in the ongoing turf war between Kerala and Tamil Nadu over the bifurcation of Palakkad rail division to form a new rail division at Salem.
?The Prime Minister assured us that the boundary of Salem division would be redrawn, taking the state?s concerns into consideration. Apart from this, he also told us that the viability of a new West-Coast Zone headquartered in Kerala would be explored in the coming days,? MP of Palakkad in Lok Sabha, NN Krishnadas told FE after the delegation?s meetings.
A further discussion of Kerala MPs with the railway ministry and all the railway board members has also been convened on Monday to discuss the new boundaries of the Salem division. ?The Prime Minister wanted us to prepare a wishlist for the rail development of Kerala. We will chart out our long-pending demands in tomorrow?s (Monday) meeting,? Krishnadas said.
However, the state was not given any word on postponing the inauguration of the Salem division, scheduled on September 14. Tamil Nadu chief minister M Karunanidhi and Union minister of state for railways R Velu have been maintaining that ?no going back? was possible on the creation of Salem division. Interestingly Velu was absent in the two rounds of discussions held by the delegation of Kerala MPs and state ministers led by Achuthanandan with the Prime Minister and railway minister Lalu Prasad.
