THIRUVANTHAPURAM : In a rare display of political courtesy in Kerala’s Kottayam district, Congress MLA Sebastian MJ stepped aside at the inauguration of a bridge and invited his predecessor, Sebastian Kulathunkal, to open it.
The project was sanctioned during Kulathunkal’s tenure as Poonjar MLA, with Rs 80 lakh allocated from his MLA asset fund for its construction.
Kulathunkal, a Kerala Congress (M) leader who was part of the LDF alliance, was defeated by Sebastian MJ in the recent Assembly election.
At a function on Friday, the two leaders jointly cut the ribbon, and in another unusual gesture, the sitting MLA’s name was not engraved on the foundation stone either.
While preparations were under way for the inauguration, Sebastian MJ had suggested that Kulathunkal should inaugurate the bridge, a local body representative said.
Following the suggestion, the former MLA was invited to the event.
Speaking at the function, Sebastian MJ said the bridge was the fulfilment of a long-standing dream of people in the region and that it was his first public function there after assuming office.
“However, as a public function, the full credit and responsibility for this goes to the former MLA. Because if he hadn’t allocated such a fund, an inauguration like this wouldn’t be happening,” he said.
“Since the complete credit for this belongs to him, I would like to say that in word and spirit, it is he who has inaugurated it,” the Congress legislator said.
He added that he had suggested inviting Kulathunkal to inaugurate the bridge and said the panchayat president, block panchayat president or those who held office when the project was sanctioned could also have jointly inaugurated it.
“That is not something that disrespects or insults me. That is pure misconception; such a notion has never crossed my mind. If he provided a fund, we must respect him. That is what politics is about – politics is the development of society,” Sebastian MJ said.
“He did his duty well. After that, I must do my duty gracefully,” the Poonjar representative added. He also said people would eventually learn the truth about development projects, regardless of how they were carried out.
