With the Vizhinjam international seaport near Thiruvananthapuram receiving its first mothership On Thursday as part of a trial run, Kerala’s ruling party CPI(M) and Opposition party Congress have moved fast to take credit for the project.

In 2015, when the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) government of Oommen Chandy inked a deal with Adani Ports and SEZ Private Limited for the Rs 7,600-crore project, then CPI(M) state secretary Pinarayi Vijayan openly termed the project a “Land scam worth Rs 6,000 crore”. The CPI(M), then in the Opposition, kept away from the inauguration of the port’s construction, alleging the port project was a “dubious deal”. In the run-up to the 2016 Assembly elections, the CPI(M) dubbed the Vizhinjam project “looting of the sea by the Adani group”.

Nine years down the line, as the port gets ready for commercial operations, Vijayan, now the Kerala Chief Minister in his second term, said on Friday, “We have to realize that Kerala opens a new chapter in its history of development. It is a moment of pride for Kerala. After the LDF (Left Democratic Front) regime came into power in 2016, we have seen progress in the construction at every stage. This moment of pride is a result of the government’s effective intervention at every stage.”

State Congress president K Sudhakaran claimed credit for his party, saying the port became reality only because of the “willpower” of Oommen Chandy who died in July 2023. “Vijayan should apologize to the people of Kerala. CPI(M) tried to kill the project. It is ludicrous to see that he is trying to take credit for the port. There is a bid to cover up the role of Chandy in making the port a reality,” he said.

Chinese cargo vessel 'San Fernando' arrives at the Vizhinjam international sea port, marking the first container ship's arrival at the newly-built port, in Thiruvananthapuram.  (PTI) Chinese cargo vessel ‘San Fernando’ arrives at the Vizhinjam international sea port, marking the first container ship’s arrival at the newly-built port, in Thiruvananthapuram. (PTI)

The official ceremony to welcome the mothership, San Fernando, saw CPI(M) and Congress leaders battling for VIjayan and Chandy in the presence of Union Minister for Ports, Shipping, and Waterways Sarbananda Sonowal, Adani Ports CEO Karan Adani, and several other dignitaries. . Congress legislator M Vincent said, “Chandy began the project on a clean slate. He took steps for environmental clearance and acquired the entire land required for it. Chandy had ensured that the project overcame all hurdles. But he faced even a probe.” At the event, CPI(M) Rajya Sabha MP AA Rahim said, “The port is the symbol of the determination of VIjayan. Mega projects get materialized only with management skills and statesmanship. It is a product of the second VIjayan regime.”

Festive offer

Meanwhile, the Congress’s Thiruvananthapuram MP Shashi Tharoor did not participate in the function in protest against the state government’s alleged failure to rehabilitate fishermen who are one of his biggest voter bases. “In 2015, the Congress government declared a package of Rs 475 crore for the next five years. But, the present government did not keep that promise to the coastal community. It is very painful that the government did not address the issues of the affected community,” he said.

Though Sudhakaran claimed credit for the project, pointing to the Chandy government’s role, the CPI(M) alleged that in 2022 the Opposition party sided with fishermen protesting against the project under the leadership of the Catholic Diocese of Thiruvananthapuram, delaying work on the project for more than three months over their demands for rehabilitation. The protests even took a violent turn, with police officials held hostage at the local station and vehicles vandalized. The police, in response, booked several Church officials, including Thiruvananthapuram Latin Catholic Archdiocese Archbishop Thomas J Netto, on charges of criminal conspiracy and rioting, among others. At the time, the CPI(M) found itself on the same side as the BJP that too was against the protests and backed the project.

The late MV Raghavan who served in the Congress government from 1991 to 1996 wrote in his autobiography “Oru Janmam (One Life)” that the CPI(M) always had an “anti-development stand” on the port project. “In 1995, the CPI(M) stood against the Rs 2,000 crore Vizhinjam project. We had signed an MoU with the Kumar Group of Companies. But the CPI(M) campaigned that the government sold the port to a private firm and thus turned the people against it,” Raghavan wrote.