New Delhi: Union Minister of State for External Affairs, V Muraleedharan, on Monday accused Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan of lying in the state Assembly.

He said the union government had written to Kerala State Railway Development Corporation Limited (K Rail) seeking clarification on the Detailed Project Report for the SilverLine semi high-speed rail project. Muraleedharan said Pinarayi lied to the Assembly by stating that the government did not receive any communication from the government.

CM, on Monday, had said as a reply to the question to Congress MLA PC Vishnunadh, that “the union government has not informed that the SilverLine DPR is incomplete.”

Muraleedharan also released the letter reportedly sent by the union rail ministry.

It read: “In- Principle approval (IPA) only for taking up pre-investment activities has been conveyed on 17.12.2019 by the Ministry of Railways. After survey, KRDCL has submitted Detailed Project Report (DPR) to the Ministry of Railways for approval. Sufficient details for technical feasibility are not available in the DPR. Therefore, KRDCL has been advised to provide detailed technical documents such as alignment plan, particulars of railway land and private land, crossings over existing railway network, duly depicting affected railway asset through Zonal Railway after site verification for detailed examination of the project and to arrive at conclusion about feasibility of project which is awaited from KRDCL.”

“DPR is under examination by Ministry of Railways. Sufficient details for technical feasibility are not available in the DPR. Therefore, KRDCL has been advised to provide detailed technical documents such as alignment plan, particulars of railway land and private land, crossings over existing railway network, duly depicting affected railway asset through Zonal Railway for detailed examination of the project and to arrive at conclusion about feasibility of project, which is awaited from KRDC,” the reply read.

The issue with DPR was flagged earlier too. Months ago, K-Rail had claimed that all questions with the ministry were answered. However, it has not responded to the latest developments yet.