Thiruvananthapuram: Federal defence minister A.K. Antony’s remark last week that the United Democratic Front seemed to be lagging in realising development projects, reached an anti-climax at the inauguration of a unit of Hindustan Aeronautics in the northern Kerala district of Kasaragod district today.
At a function of the BrahMos missile manufacturing unit at Thiruvananthapuram, which is a joint venture between India and Russia, Antony had heaped praise on the previous Left Democratic Front government, saying it was more proactive in establishing joint ventures between the federal and state governments. Going one step further, the defence minister said he had some trepidation in bringing more federal investment to Kerala.
That remark set off a series of statements by political leaders in Kerala cutting across the political spectrum. Among the tart comments was one by Kerala Congress (M) leader and state chief whip P.C. George, who said he wondered how Antony would be able to appeal to voters when the Parliament elections came round after publicly berating the United Democratic Front government.
The Indian Union Muslim League were also upset over Antony’s statement because Antony praised the work of Communist Party of India Marxist leader Elamaram Kareem in his term as industry minister. The Muslim League interpreted that as an indirect criticism of its leader P.K. Kunhalikutty, who is the present industry minister in the UDF ministry.
Making light of his own statement a few days back, Antony said whatever he said had been “in the best interests of Kerala”, and that the HAL unit at Kasaragod would soon witness expansion. He thanked Kunhalikutty for his help in realising the project, and remarked, “My opinion is that we should keep politics aside when it comes to development.”
The inaugural function of the HAL unit in Kasaragod today, which brought Antony, chief minister Oommen Chandy, Kunhalikutty and Elamaram Kareem on the same stage, was expected to touch some political raw nerves, but the leaders largely kept away from political talk, defusing the build-up over Antony’s statement about the UDF government.
Speaking about the HAL unit in Kasaragod, Antony said the unit had already begun production and that this was only a formal inaugural function. He said the second phase expansion of the unit will be kick-started within a few months. The defence minister said the unit will, in its next phases, deal with advanced electronic equipment for the Sukhoi-30 and Jaguar aircraft.
