The private bill introduced in the Lok Sabha by Hibi Eden, Congress's Member of Parliament from Ernakulam, seeking to shift the capital of Kerala to Kochi, is completely inappropriate. The state wing of the Congress and the high command not only disagreed with this but also rejected the demand in the bill. No political party in Kerala agrees with the bill. In the parliamentary session last March, Hibi Eden introduced the strange bill on his own without even consulting the party. This was done without even consulting the member of his own party representing Thiruvananthapuram. The issue came to the attention of the people and became controversial when Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan gave a reply stating that there was no need to shift the capital from Thiruvananthapuram when the central government sought the opinion of the state government in the matter. The Congress High Command has instructed the MPs to introduce private bills and resolutions in the Parliament only with the party's permission.

The MP has demanded that since Thiruvananthapuram is at the southern end of the state it creates travel problems for the people of the north, and to avoid this, Kochi in the center should be made the capital. If Hibi Eden accepts this argument, shouldn't he be asking the Parliament to shift the capital of the country itself from Delhi to Bhopal or Gwalior first? The capitals of the states of the country are not determined by its central position. The places that were administrative centers during the British era and before that were later formed as capitals. The city of Chennai, the capital of Tamil Nadu, Kerala's neighboring state, lies at one end of Tamil Nadu. Bengaluru is no different. It is reasonable to suspect that some narrow political reasons motivated the MP to introduce this private bill. Minister Sivankutty responded that the demand for Hibi Eden is impractical and immature. Minister P Rajeev from Ernakulam district said that Hibi Eden is making preparations to contest from Ernakulam next time. Impractical changes are termed Tughlaq reforms after a ruler who tried to change the capital in the olden days. It would not be surprising if Hibi Eden's personal bill also gets such a name.

Changing a capital is no small matter. A new assembly building, secretariat, ancillary institutions and ministerial residences should be prepared. This is something that costs crores. What will the state gain by making such a change? Life in Ernakulam and Kochi is already difficult due to overcrowding, traffic jams and garbage problems. With the Lok Sabha elections coming up, one cannot blame the people who suspect that the bill has been introduced to divert attention from such important matters in the constituency. People's representatives should approach issues with a broad perspective.