UDF MPs NK Premachandran and Kodikunnil Suresh Clash Over Vistadome Coach on Madurai–Guruvayur Express

Thiruvananthapuram: UDF MPs have engaged in a war of words over the introduction of a Vistadome coach on the Madurai–Guruvayur Express. Kollam MP NK Premachandran and Mavelikkara MP Kodikunnil Suresh have both claimed credit for bringing the coach to Keralam. Both have made public statements through social media and the media.

After Kodikunnil announced in a Facebook post that the Vistadome coach had been sanctioned, Premachandran published a post of his own. Kodikunnil’s personal assistant, Abdullah Azad, then entered the fray, highlighting what he claimed were the MP’s interventions and rejecting Premachandran’s claims.

Premachandran subsequently spoke to the media and openly criticised Kodikunnil. He said the remarks made by Kodikunnil’s personal assistant were incorrect and claimed that the coach had been secured because of his efforts over the past nine years.

Kodikunnil soon responded, asserting that he had worked to bring the train to the region and asking whether the coach would have arrived if the train itself had not been introduced. He maintained that there was nothing wrong with what he had said and that there was no point in others being jealous.

Meanwhile, several people on social media have mocked the MPs for fighting over a single coach, pointing out that those who had allegedly made no efforts to develop Keralam’s railway network over the years were now engaged in a public dispute over it.