Thiruvananthapuram, Jul 18 (PTI) Congress MP Shashi Tharoor on Saturday said that the Nemom railway project, which he had been pursuing with the Railways since 2009, will finally be completed in March next year.
Tharoor, speaking on the sidelines of a book launch event here, told reporters that the project will be completed in March 2027 thanks to the initiative taken by the current Southern Railway GM R N Singh.
“The long-awaited Nemom railway project, which I had first written to the Railway Minister about in 2009 and have pursued with successive Railway General Managers, is finally set to be completed by March. I thank the Southern Railway General Manager for taking this initiative,” he said.
Singh told reporters that the redevelopment and modernisation of Thiruvananthapuram station would be completed by June 2028.
Thanking Singh for the initiative taken by him, the Congress MP told reporters that the GM has written a book on leadership titled “Beyond the Ivy League – Traits, Skills and Wisdom That Make Great Leaders,” which he just launched.
At the book launch event, Tharoor spoke about leadership and how it transcends academic credentials, official positions, or mere celebrity.
“Those who seek power all the time for its own sake, they rarely become great leaders. The finest leaders are those who seek purpose rather than position. Leadership is never an individual achievement, it’s a collective endeavor. The greatest leaders do not create followers, they create future leaders,” Tharoor said.
He further said that leadership was neither hereditary nor accidental; it was earned.
The Congress MP also said that leadership was not confined to grand speeches or dramatic moments, but often expressed quietly in improving institutions and practices, simplifying processes, making public services more responsive to ordinary citizens.
“Leadership therefore belongs everywhere and can be exercised by everyone. A teacher who awakens curiosity, a doctor who serves in remote villages, a judge who upholds justice against public pressure or political pressure.” “A civil servant who refuses to be corrupt, a scientist who discovers a life-saving vaccine, a soldier who sacrifices his own life for the nation,” he said.
Citing examples of historical figures like Ashoka, Abraham Lincoln, Nelson Mandela and Mahatma Gandhi, alongside modern Indian visionaries such as Dr Verghese Kurien and Dr A P J Abdul Kalam, Tharoor said that leadership was not defined by occupation or rank but by “profound responsibility and clear vision”.
He said that universities may educate the mind, but experience sharpens judgment and adversity strengthens character.
“But leadership begins only when knowledge is transformed into wisdom, wisdom into responsibility, responsibility into service, and service into a legacy that outlives the individual,” Tharoor said. PTI HMP SA
This report is auto-generated from PTI news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content.