Here’s why Congress MP Shashi Tharoor is all praise for Nitin Gadkari

Senior Congress leader and Lok Sabha MP from Thiruvananthapuram Shashi Tharoor praised Union Minister for Road Transport & Highways Nitin Gadkari for acknowledging his role in making a National Highway bypass project a reality. “Uncommonly gracious of @nitin_gadkari ji to acknowledge me by name twice & thank me for my role in making this NH bypass a reality. Such decency across party lines is sadly rare in our polarised politics. I salute this Minister for his efficiency & focus on results. Jai Hind,” Tharoor tweeted.

On Tuesday, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari said that highway projects worth ₹50,000 crore are being developed in Kerala as part of the Mumbai-Kanyakumari economic corridor under Bharatmala Pariyojana,

He was speaking at a virtual ceremony for the laying of foundation stones for seven highway projects worth ₹11,571 crore for Kerala and inauguration of a 27-kilometre highway project from Kazhakoottam to Mukkola, built at a cost of ₹1,121 crore.

Tharoor attended the virtual inauguration ceremony of the Thiruvananthapuram-Mukkola stretch of National Highway 66. He said the Thiruvananthapuram-Mukkola stretch of NH 66 is one of his 'proudest projects'. “It was during my first term as MP that I overcame 40 years of logjams to get this included in the UPA budget and ensured land acquisition before the 2014 elections,” Tharoor said.

Nitin Gadkari said, "Mumbai–Kanyakumari Economic Corridor with a length of 1,760 kilometres is one such corridor being developed as a part of the Bharatmala Pariyojana."

He noted that the corridor improving connectivity to the entire western coast of the country from Mumbai till Kanyakumari will greatly enable the economic prosperity of the region.

"As a part of the Mumbai–Kanyakumari Economic Corridor, 23 projects with a length of 650 kilometres are being developed in the state of Kerala at an investment of ₹50,000 crore," the minister said.

He also said that the corridor traversing the entire length of Kerala from North to South is expected to be the lifeline of Kerala. The corridor improves connectivity to major cities/ towns such as Kasargod, Thalassery, Kannur, Kozhikode, Ernakulam, Kochi, Alappuzha, Kollam and Thiruvananthapuram.