<p>'Metro man' E Sreedharan, set to join the BJP ahead of Kerala Assembly elections later this year, backed the saffron party on the issue of 'Love Jihad', saying he had seen Hindu and Christian girls being "tricked" into marriage. He added that this is one issue he will certainly oppose.</p>.<p>In an <a href="https://www.ndtv.com/video/exclusive/the-news/bjp-not-communal-party-of-nation-lovers-india-s-metro-man-e-sreedharan-576372" target="_blank">interview </a>with <em>NDTV</em>, Sreedharan stated that the BJP is being painted like a "communal party" in the country today but he sees the saffron party as "nation lovers". </p>.<p>"According to me, not because I have got such a long association with people in BJP — it is not a communal party at all. It is a party consisting of nation lovers and who accept that all parties, all communities are alike as far as they are concerned. That is the attitude of the Modi government. I can see the way he speaks, I have never seen him at any time attacking any religion. This religious bias in an unnecessarily taunt on BJP and very unjust," he added. </p>.<p><strong>Also read — <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/national/south/metro-man-e-sreedharan-set-to-join-bjp-ahead-of-elections-952574.html" target="_blank">'Metro man' E Sreedharan set to join BJP ahead of elections</a></strong></p>.<p>Sreedharan confirmed to the media on Thursday that he will join the BJP. He said that both the CPM-led Left Democratic Front and the Congress-led United Democratic Front that had been ruling Kerala over the years are only interested in political gains. He is hopeful that only the BJP-led NDA could initiate steps for Kerala's development which is why he decided to work with BJP.</p>.<p>Sreedharan, who is now 89, may also contest in the upcoming Assembly elections.</p>.<p>Sreedharan, who led the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) and is the principal advisor for the Kochi Metro project, was closely associated with the Kerala government over the years. He was also carrying out reconstruction of the Palarivattom flyover in Kochi that suffered damages due to poor quality of construction within three years of commissioning.</p>.<p>Sreedharan, who is a Padma Vibhushan recipient, is a native of Palakkad district in Kerala.</p>
<p>'Metro man' E Sreedharan, set to join the BJP ahead of Kerala Assembly elections later this year, backed the saffron party on the issue of 'Love Jihad', saying he had seen Hindu and Christian girls being "tricked" into marriage. He added that this is one issue he will certainly oppose.</p>.<p>In an <a href="https://www.ndtv.com/video/exclusive/the-news/bjp-not-communal-party-of-nation-lovers-india-s-metro-man-e-sreedharan-576372" target="_blank">interview </a>with <em>NDTV</em>, Sreedharan stated that the BJP is being painted like a "communal party" in the country today but he sees the saffron party as "nation lovers". </p>.<p>"According to me, not because I have got such a long association with people in BJP — it is not a communal party at all. It is a party consisting of nation lovers and who accept that all parties, all communities are alike as far as they are concerned. That is the attitude of the Modi government. I can see the way he speaks, I have never seen him at any time attacking any religion. This religious bias in an unnecessarily taunt on BJP and very unjust," he added. </p>.<p><strong>Also read — <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/national/south/metro-man-e-sreedharan-set-to-join-bjp-ahead-of-elections-952574.html" target="_blank">'Metro man' E Sreedharan set to join BJP ahead of elections</a></strong></p>.<p>Sreedharan confirmed to the media on Thursday that he will join the BJP. He said that both the CPM-led Left Democratic Front and the Congress-led United Democratic Front that had been ruling Kerala over the years are only interested in political gains. He is hopeful that only the BJP-led NDA could initiate steps for Kerala's development which is why he decided to work with BJP.</p>.<p>Sreedharan, who is now 89, may also contest in the upcoming Assembly elections.</p>.<p>Sreedharan, who led the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) and is the principal advisor for the Kochi Metro project, was closely associated with the Kerala government over the years. He was also carrying out reconstruction of the Palarivattom flyover in Kochi that suffered damages due to poor quality of construction within three years of commissioning.</p>.<p>Sreedharan, who is a Padma Vibhushan recipient, is a native of Palakkad district in Kerala.</p>