Congress, UDF not against high-speed rail project, says Satheesan
Thiruvananthapuram (PTI): Congress leader V D Satheesan on Saturday said that his party and the UDF were not opposed to any high-speed rail project, provided it was environmentally sustainable and financially viable for the state.
Commenting on the ongoing debate between the state government, which is pushing for the Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS), and 'Metroman' E Sreedharan, who has been advocating a high-speed rail project, Satheesan said Kerala required faster mobility solutions and that infrastructure development should proceed.
"We are not against any high-speed rail project, and it should come. But there should be proper environmental studies, and it should be financially viable for Kerala," the Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly told reporters here.
He said his party would not object to such a project even if it was brought by the Centre or the state government.
"The RRTS project was announced towards the end of the government’s tenure, just before it is going to leave the office. It was announced without even a preliminary study. However, we will support any good project," he said.
Satheesan said the Opposition had opposed the K-Rail project only after studying its Detailed Project Report (DPR).
"We realised it would create an environmental disaster in Kerala and would destroy the state financially. That is why we objected to it," he said.
He said the party did not oppose the high-speed rail project proposed by Sreedharan, as it required more detailed studies.
Satheesan said after expressing his views, he was attacked by those who claimed that he opposed the state government’s K-Rail project but welcomed a project proposed by the Centre.
"I said, let the Railways announce the project. Sreedharan is behind it, and we will examine it. But people, including the Kerala Industries Minister, attacked me," he said.
Satheesan said recent comments by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan had confirmed that the government was aware of Sreedharan’s proposal and had taken it to Delhi.
He also recalled that when the Oommen Chandy-led government was in power, the present Industries Minister P Rajeev, had led protests following a fake campaign claiming that Sreedharan was being removed from the Kochi Metro Rail project.
"Now they don’t like Sreedharan. I don’t know what this is," Satheesan added.
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Rajnath to top commanders: Outmaneuver adversaries with strategic surprise
Jaipur/New Delhi (PTI): Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Friday directed the top military commanders of the three services to integrate an "element of surprise" into modern warfare to outmaneuver India's adversaries and bolster strategic posture.
In his address at the joint commanders conference in Jaipur, Singh also described the Operation Sindoor as a testament to the "swift, precise, and joint response" of the Indian armed forces to safeguard national interests and called upon the military to remain ready to deal with any security challenges.
In their two-day deliberations, the commanders carried out a comprehensive review of the combat preparedness of the military in the wake of the evolving regional security situation.
Operation Sindoor was a demonstration of India's growing capabilities and a symbol of the nation's collective resolve and new military ethos, Singh said, a day after the first anniversary of Operation Sindoor.
He also unveiled a 'Joint Doctrine for Integrated Communication Architecture' that is aimed at strengthening doctrinal clarity, interoperability and integrated communications across the armed forces in future multidomain operations.
The joint commanders' conference, themed 'Military Capability in New Domains', brought together the top leadership of the defence ministry and the three services to deliberate on emerging security challenges and future readiness.
Comprehensive deliberations were held on future warfare, multidomain operations, technological transformation and joint capability development.
The conference witnessed extensive discussions on cognitive warfare, cyber resilience against evolving quantum and AI-enabled threats, military capability development in emerging domains, indigenous innovation and AI-enabled warfighting concepts.
It was attended by Chief of Defence Staff Gen Anil Chauhan, Chief of the Naval Staff Admiral Dinesh Kumar Tripathi, Chief of the Army Staff Gen Upendra Dwivedi, Chief of the Air Staff Air Chief Marshal AP Singh and Defence Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh among others.
In his remarks, Singh asked the commanders to remain "future-ready" by learning from the operation as well as the current global security landscape.
He underscored the need to strengthen capabilities in artificial intelligence, autonomous systems, data analytics and secure communication networks to stay prepared in the rapidly evolving geopolitical security scenario. He emphasised that future conflicts will increasingly be shaped by hybrid threats, information dominance and operations conducted simultaneously across cyber, space, electromagnetic and cognitive domains, according to an official readout.
Highlighting the transformative impact of emerging technologies, Singh stressed on the importance of ensuring integrated national preparedness across all spectrums of conflict, it said.
Singh's remarks at the conference came a day after the first anniversary of Operation Sindoor.
The defence minister appreciated the progress achieved in enhancing jointness, integration and technological adoption across the three services, the readout noted.
Singh said that jointness constitutes a pivotal dimension within the transformative changes sweeping across the global defence sector.
"Future wars will not be won solely through weaponry, but through innovative thinking and enhanced synergy," he said.
The defence minister exhorted the commanders to cultivate the "element of surprise" to remain unpredictable to the nation's adversaries and secure a strategic edge in any given situation.
He, however, urged them to remain vigilant of the element of surprise of the enemy and always stay two steps ahead.
Singh also reiterated the Narendra Modi government's commitment to enhancing the capabilities of the defence forces through state-of-the-art weapons and platforms. He added that special focus is being laid on research in niche domains.
During the conference, he released a documentary film on Operation Sindoor.
The film reaffirms the nation's and defence forces' commitment to operational preparedness and decisive national response capabilities.
Demonstrations of advanced systems and platforms developed for intelligence fusion, operational planning and information management were also showcased during the conference reflecting growing integration of cutting-edge technologies into joint operational structures, according to the defence ministry.
The discussions will contribute significantly towards shaping India's future military transformation and integrated operational preparedness, it said.
