When something auspicious happens in a family, there may be some relatives who will turn their back on it. In alliance politics also such poker faces are seen. Boycotting a government function by those in the Opposition after complaining that either they were not invited or the invite was not satisfactory, has become a common thing nowadays.

This bad habit was exhibited by those in the ruling side, when they were in the Opposition during the previous ministry. It would be better not to mix politics in social welfare development projects implemented by the government. The beneficiaries of any government project are the country and its people. It is the responsibility of any populist government to implement projects for the welfare of the people. Those who spoke against those projects and hamper those projects out of their narrow mindedness are doing something very cheap.

The duty of any political party should be to cooperate with development projects, setting aside political differences with others. The inauguration of the second phase of Karamana-Kaliyikkavila national highway, the project that was started ten years ago, took place on Thursday evening in front of a huge public gathering.

The second phase is the renovation of the five kilometre stretch of road from Pravachambalam to Balaramapuram. The road will be renovated after widening it to 30 metre.

The locals are on cloud nine to see the project getting a new lease of life after virtually remaining dead for the past one and a half years with no one coming forward to accept the tender.

Those who have travelled through this road from Thiruvananthapuram to south at least once will never forget the tedious journey through this road. It is that much disappointing and repulsive.

Now, it has been years since people here have been awaiting the completion of the road. The stretch from Karamana to Pravachambalam was completed during the tenure of the previous UDF government. It also had taken a long time.

And, the UDF leaders boycotted the inauguration of the second phase construction on Thursday. The reason they pointed was frivolous – that the Opposition leader was not invited; however the truth behind this is not known. Usually officers in charge of organising the function do not make such mistakes. Moreover, the government is not going to earn anything by excluding the leaders from the Opposition.

But the common people has the right to know the truth and the officers concerned are obliged to tell people the truth. The allegation that the inauguration was done with an eye on the Lok Sabha election is childish and cheap.

This is a development project for which people have been waiting for so long. People travelling from Thiruvananthapuram to Kanyakumari also been have been waiting so long for this.

It had been the negligence of changing governments that had left the condition of the road in this state. This should not be forgotten.

The people who end up in the Opposition and find fault with anything done by the ruling side is also responsible for this delay. Though Opposition leader, MPs and MLAs had boycotted the function, the huge public gathering should not be overlooked.

Through elections, rulers will keep changing but the administration is a continuous phenomenon. Any government will be trying to do what people want them to do. Mixing politics in basic infrastructure development projects and exhibiting jealously are against the goodwill of the people.

It is the Front politicians who turn the destructors of several projects including national highway development. If they had rose to the occasion after understanding people’s wishes, miracles would have happened here long before.

Tender procedures are just going on in the case of the national highway development project from Thiruvananthapuram to Kasargod. For decades people have been hearing about this. Now, people’s leaders should make an introspection that why in Kerala alone development projects are not happening.