Thiruvananthapuram: The Kerala government is getting ready to inform the Centre that it is not feasible to shift the state capital from Thiruvananthapuram to Kochi.
The state government was asked for its response to the private member’s Bill on this matter, which was moved by Ernakulam MP Hibi Eden in the Lok Sabha in March this year.
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has made the intent of his government clear that it’s not possible to shift the state capital to Kochi.
Incidentally, Ernakulam or Kochi, as its most popularly known, is often referred to as the commercial capital of the state as it is centrally located, making it accessible, especially to those in the northern districts of the state.
Eden (40) began his parliamentary career by winning his debut election to the Kerala Assembly from Ernakulam in 2011. Mid-way into his second tenure as a legislator, he was fielded in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, which he won easily.
With the next Lok Sabha polls round the corner, this Bill might go down as nothing but an election gimmick by Eden, whose father George Eden was also a Lok Sabha member.