CPI(M) Calls V D Satheesan's Tata Investment Claim 'Unbecoming of a Chief Minister'

Thiruvananthapuram: The CPI(M) state secretariat has said Chief Minister V D Satheesan's false announcement that Tata would invest Rs 10,000 crore in a shipbuilding facility is wholly unbecoming of the office of Chief Minister. The Chief Minister had announced that land would be provided to Tata for a shipbuilding unit — but spokesperson associated with Tata have since clarified that the company has no plans to set up such a unit. The secretariat said the Chief Minister's habit of making false claims on any matter has become an embarrassment for Keralam itself.

The CPI(M) pointed out that during the LDF government's tenure, a deal had been signed between Aptsen Indian Limited — a Tata subsidiary — and Malabar Cements for a boat manufacturing unit entailing an investment of Rs 500 crore. A Rs 3,700 crore project in collaboration with Hyundai at Cochin Shipyard had also been put forward during the LDF government's time, the statement noted.