Kerala CM Vijayan trying to make Kerala investment-friendly: MP Tharoor

Senior Congress leader and Thiruvananthapuram MP Shashi Tharoor on Thursday praised Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, saying he, as an administrator, was trying to change the impression that the southern state was not investment-friendly.

Addressing a programme attended by Vijayan, Leader of Opposition V D Satheesan and leaders of various political parties here, Tharoor said he had tried to attract many international investors to Kerala after his stint at the United Nations but "they all eventually went to neighbouring states citing the reasons of strikes, hartals among others in Kerala".

"However, our chief minister is trying to change that perspective and I feel that it's a good thing...We all know our (state's) history and we cannot always export our unemployment to Gulf countries. We need to generate employment here and for that we need to instill confidence among the investors," Tharoor said at the inauguration of the Lulu group's new mall here.

Tharoor's statement came days after he refused to sign a letter prepared by the MPs from the

Congress-led UDF to the Central government against the state government's Silver Line semi-high speed rail corridor linking the north and south ends of Kerala.

The Thiruvananthapuram MP said all parties should stand together and send across a message that Kerala is open for business.

"Let today's inauguration be the beginning. Things are changing in Kerala. Let people come here. Our chief minister is ready to welcome them. Create jobs and opportunities for Keralites like M A Yusuff Ali (Lulu group chairman) did. Kerala will give you the opportunity to flourish and will not create hurdles in the way. We need to send this message across," Tharoor said.

Earlier, addressing the function, Vijayan said that some people harbour a harmful mentality to hinder the development of the state.

"They claim to stand for the common interest but they are actually against the state and its development. We need to understand this. More investors like this need to come to our state. Our state is getting ready for more ventures like this. We are aiming to create a knowledge economy and society. The people should understand about those who try to hinder our developmental activities," Vijayan said.

The CM said the state government plans to attract investments worth Rs 10,000 crore in a short period of time.

He also explained the steps taken by his government to promote MSMEs in the state.

The Lulu Mall built in around 20 lakh square feet area, slated to be the biggest in the country, has been constructed with an investment of over Rs 2000 crore.

The main highlight of the mall, which will be opened for the public tomorrow, would be the two-lakh square-feet hypermarket with high-level amenities and collections. Apart from this special sections are there for Indian and Arabic food items. Products acquired from Kudumbasree are also made available at the hypermarket.

The Lulu management said the mall has created job opportunities for more than 15,000 families which apparently include more than 600 natives from Thiruvananthapuram district besides more than 100 local residents from Akkulam, where the mall is situated.