New Delhi/Thiruvananthapuram | BJP Keralam president Rajeev Chandrasekhar on Monday accused the Congress of deliberately turning the proposed bifurcation of the Palakkad Railway Division into a controversy to divert public attention from the performance of the UDF government, which completed 100 days in office.

The Railway Board's decision to bifurcate the Palakkad division and shift stations, including those in the Mangaluru area, to the Mysuru division has triggered protests in Keralam.

Speaking to reporters in New Delhi, Chandrasekhar said the move was an administrative reorganisation by the Railways and there was no reason for Keralam to be concerned about it.

"Railways is a national organisation. They are carrying out an administrative reorganisation and making Mangaluru part of the Mysuru division. What is the problem with that?" he asked.

He said Mangaluru was already connected to three railway divisions and questioned why Congress leaders, including Chief Minister V D Satheesan and Congress leader K C Venugopal, were making the issue a political controversy.

"What is the problem for V D Satheesan and K C Venugopal? To create something and create a controversy and divert people's attention. What is the issue they are holding on to today? It has been 100 days. This government, which made several promises, has nothing to show. So they make the Palakkad division an issue," he said.

Chandrasekhar assured that the reorganisation would not affect railway development or investment in Keralam and said the Centre would implement the development plans already prepared for the state.

"I am saying on behalf of the Narendra Modi government and BJP Keralam that the railway development blueprint for the next three years will be implemented. I assure the people of this on the day of Onam," he said.

He said Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw had reiterated that there would be no reduction in the investments planned for Keralam.

"Not a single rupee of investment that has been decided will be reduced. There will not be a single gap in the investment plan decided three weeks ago," he said.

Chandrasekhar said the BJP had prepared a three-year development blueprint covering railway projects in the state, including station modernisation, railway overbridges and other infrastructure projects.

He said BJP leader P K Krishnadas had worked for three to four weeks on preparing the blueprint, identifying where station modernisation and railway overbridges should be taken up.

He cited railway modernisation undertaken in Keralam over the past 12 years, including station modernisation and the introduction of Vande Bharat trains, and said these developments had taken place even when the BJP was not in power in the state.

"Seven stations, Vande Bharat trains - all these have happened, haven't they? The BJP government was not in power here, yet they happened," he said.

Chandrasekhar also rejected the argument that shifting the Mangaluru area to the Mysuru division would affect Keralam's interests, saying Mangaluru was in Karnataka and that railway divisions were subject to administrative reorganisation.

"If Mangaluru is part of Karnataka, it can be included in the Mysuru division. What is the problem with that?" he asked.

He said the only question that should concern Keralam was whether the reorganisation would affect the state's railway development and investment, and claimed that the answer from the Centre was clearly "no".

Chandrasekhar said that focus should be on the UDF government's performance after 100 days in office rather than on the railway division controversy.

"When a government comes to power after making promises, we should examine whether it has kept those promises. That is an important part of democracy," he said.

Chandrasekhar alleged that the UDF government had not achieved anything significant in its first 100 days and criticised Satheesan working for publicity.

"What has Satheesan done in 100 days? Printed posters, made Instagram reels, travelled by train, had tea and coffee and made good slogans," he said.

He also raised the issue of land acquisition for railway projects, saying it was the state government's responsibility and required adequate funds.

Referring to a news report, he claimed that the state government had completed only 13 per cent of the required land acquisition and asked why the issue was not being raised instead of the Palakkad division.

"Isn't that a more important issue than the Palakkad division? Why don't you ask why the state government is not completing the land acquisition?" he asked.

He also alleged that the LDF and UDF were engaged in a "fixed match", claiming that the Congress had contested the election by raising corruption allegations against the CPI(M), but no action had been taken after it came to power.

Chandrasekhar cited the alleged loss of gold at Sabarimala, the CMRL case involving Veena T, daughter of former Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, and alleged irregularities related to the proposed football match featuring Lionel Messi-led Argentina team as examples.

"They hand over the probe to Vigilance. How is the Vigilance Department going to investigate a case involving the Argentine Football Association? Does Satheesan think we are all fools?" he asked.