New Delhi | Senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Wednesday hailed the government's announcement that Kerala's first Vande Bharat Express will be launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi next week and said he would attend the PM's flagging off of the train from Thiruvananthapuram.

The MP from Thiruvanathapuram asserted that progress must be beyond politics.

Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Tuesday said Kerala's first Vande Bharat Express will be launched by Prime Minister Modi on April 25.

Reacting to the announcement, Tharoor tweeted, "Recalling my tweets of fourteen months ago suggesting Vande Bharat trains for Kerala. Delighted that Ashwini Vaishnaw has done just that. Looking forward to attending Narendra Modi's flagging off of the first train from Thiruvananthapuram on 25th. Progress must be beyond politics." He tagged his tweets from February in which he had said that one interesting element for Kerala in Budget 2022 is the announcement of 400 new Vande Bharat trains, which can travel at 180kmph.

"Bringing Vande Bharat trains to Kerala could address @vijayanpinarayi's concern for speedy train travel to promote development, and alleviate @INCKerala's concerns about land acquisition and environmental impact. GOI and GOK shld discuss a win-win outcome in the interests of the state," he had said on February 1, 2022.