Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan today said his government expects Prime Minister Narendra Modi to find time amid his hectic schedule to inaugurate the prestigious Kochi metro project.
He said other arrangements for inauguration of the project would be made only if the PM would not be available for it.
Vijayan sought to stress upon his government's earnestness to have the Kochi Metro inaugurated by Modi amid the BJP's allegations that a move was afoot within the state government to get the project inaugurated on May 30 when the PM would be away on an European tour.
Denying that any date has been fixed to inaugurate the Kochi Metro, Vijayan said, "We are in constant touch with the PM's office and only after getting his confirmation, a final date for the Metro inauguration will be fixed."
"There is some misunderstanding in connection with the date of inauguration of the Kochi metro. No date has been finalised by the government yet," he told reporters at Kannur.
BJP state president Kummanam Rajasekharan had earlier said that the government was well aware that the prime minister would be away from the country from May 29 to June 3.
Commenting upon the alleged move to get the Kochi metro inaugurated on May 30, he said there was a 'deliberate' attempt to ensure that Modi does not get to attend the function.
There is a 'political conspiracy' behind the move, he said.
The CPI (M)-led LDF government should have decided on a date for the inaugural function after taking into account the prime minister's convenience, the BJP leader said here.
The LDF government has drawn up a series of programmes to mark its first year in office, including getting the prestigious Rs 5,181 crore Kochi Metro project inaugurated by Modi.
Earlier, talking to reporters Devaswom and Tourism Minister Kadakkampally Surendran said: "We are expecting prime minister Narendra Modi's confirmation in a day or two and the files are in the PMO's office,"
The first phase of Kochi Metro comprises a 13.4 km section from Aluva to Palarivattom. Its inauguration has been tentatively fixed for May 30, the minister said.
(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)