Cong slams Kerala CM for omitting Oommen Chandy mention at Vizhinjam port event

Thiruvananthapuram, Jul 12 (PTI) The opposition Congress on Friday lashed out at Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and the Left government for not mentioning the name of late party stalwart Oommen Chandy at the ceremony welcoming the first cargo ship at Vizhinjam port, saying that it shows their "manners".

While the CM did not mention Chandy by name at the event, Kerala Speaker A N Shamseer, later, in a Facebook post said the historic moment "cannot be complete without remembering the immeasurable contributions and self-sacrifice of former Chief Minister Oommen Chandy".

Meanwhile, Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan took a dig at the state government by claiming ignorance about the event when he was informed about it by reporters.

"I am not aware of it? The state government is organising the programme? Thank you very much for informing me," he said.

During the event, UDF MLA M Vincent, who represents the Kovalam assembly constituency within which the Vizhinjam port comes and was the sole representative of the opposition at the ceremony, referred to the contributions by Chandy in making the port a reality.

Speaking at the event after the speeches by the CM and Left Ministers V N Vasavan and K N Balagopal, Vincent said the port was started from "a clean slate" by the late Congress stalwart and he had faced insults and judicial and vigilance probes for his efforts.

He said that the port had come up thanks to the efforts of the successive governments in the state.

"If he (Chandy) was alive today, he would have been the happiest person to see this development," the Kovalam MLA said.

He also said that for development everybody should work together, setting aside their political differences. "Therefore, if the Leader of Opposition (V D Satheesan) was here at this event, it would have been even better," Vincent said.

Satheesan was allegedly not invited to the event by the Left government.

Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) chief K Sudhakaran too criticised the CM and the state government for not giving credit to Chandy in connection with the project and allegedly not inviting Satheesan to the event.

"It shows their manners. They do not respect the opposition. We do not expect anything from them," he said.

The CM, in his speech, only referred to the contributions by the Left government in making the port a reality.

The Congress had on Thursday also expressed its displeasure over the state government's alleged decision to exclude the opposition leadership from the ceremony.

The KPCC had also claimed that the project was Chandy's "baby" and asked that it be named after the late leader.

The international sea port is being developed by Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Ltd, (APSEZ), India's largest port developer and part of the Adani Group, in a public-private partnership model at a cost of around Rs 8,867 crore.

Equipped with modern equipment and advanced automation and IT systems, Vizhinjam will become India's first semi-automated port, expected to be fully commissioned in September or October 2024.

The project, scheduled to be commissioned in 2019, was delayed due to issues with land acquisition, various natural calamities and the Covid-19 pandemic. PTI