Kerela CM Pinarayi talks about private investment, invites companies to invest in state

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Within days of taking over as chief minister, LDF boss Pinarayi Vijayan and industries minister E P Jayarajan have come out in support of privatization of railways and welcoming MNCs interested in investing in Kerala, dispelling the perception that the Left in Kerala is more doctrinaire and rigid.

"We will look into the possibility of bringing in private investment for the laying of railway track," Vijayan said after meeting finance minister Arun Jaitely last week. He also told reporters about the public-private investment models in the state.

One of the major promises in the LDF's manifesto was creation of 10 lakh jobs in Kerala in the next five years, and Vijayan knows that this aim is possible only with generous investment of private players. He is clear that ideological dogmas should not become hurdles on the growth trajectory that the LDF has planned for the state.

The day after his swearing-in, Vijayan had a special guest, Infosys co-founder Kris Gopalakrishnan. It's not known what they discussed, but sources said the CM asked him about Infosys's decision to drop phase-2 expansion of Thiruvananthapuram campus. The software major had returned the land it had leased in the Technocity campus citing lack of cooperation from the Technopark authorities.

The paradigm shift in the CPM's policy against privatisation of railways has raised several eyebrows. "As an administrator and a CM, he can only speak like that. When in power, he knows the fundamental difficulties he has to face," said R Chandrasekhar state INTUC president.