PM Modi's Political Jibes During Vizhinjam Port Commissioning Speech
Prime Minister Narendra Modi commissioned Vizhinjam International Seaport on Friday. During the inaugural address, the prime minister hailed the project as a significant achievement for India’s maritime and trade sectors. Notably, the speech was also marked by several politically charged remarks in which the prime minister took jibes at the ruling left government in Kerala and the INDIA bloc.
PM Modi said that two prominent INDIA bloc leaders – Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and Congress leader Shashi Tharoor – shared the high-profile stage with him, adding that the scenario might make some people uncomfortable.
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Shashi Tharoor, who represents Thiruvananthapuram, was present to welcome Prime Minister Modi at the airport on Thursday evening.
Tharoor, as a representative of the people in the region, has been associated with the Vizhinjam project since the project’s onset. Notably, several netizens have shared photos of Tharoor’s friendly moment with PM Modi against the backdrop of murmurs that the Congress leader might join the saffron camp, a rumour the four-time Congress Thiruvananthapuram MP has categorically rejected time and again.
While the Malayalam translator skipped the political jibe in the Prime Minister’s Hindi speech, he also joked about the missing political line, stating, ‘The message has gone across to whom it was meant.’
The translator later clarified that he could not clearly hear what the Prime Minister specifically said, which was different from the script. ‘I followed the script, and the other matter was something the Prime Minister added,’ he said. The translator further said that he has no connection with state government.
“If I have a link with a party, it is the BJP; all our family members are Narendra Modi’s admirers,” the translator added, local media reported.
Stating that private-government partnership is crucial to the country’s development, the prime minister also took a dig at the ruling communist government regarding its partnership with Adani Ports to make the flagship project a reality. PM Modi said he noticed some novelty in a communist government.
He was referring to Fisheries Minister V.N. Vasavan’s words that the Kerala government had “found a partner” in Adani Ports for the Vizhinjam project. The Prime Minister and the BJP-led Union Government have been facing criticism from the Congress party that the dispensation is favouring corporate giants, especially the Adani Group.
A company fully owned by the Government of Kerala, the port received its commercial commissioning certificate in December 2024. Developed by Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Ltd (APSEZ) under a public-private partnership, the port is expected to create immense business potential, logistics and employment opportunities.
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The project was completed at an estimated cost of Rs 8,867 crore. Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Monday said that the port is the largest-ever state investment in any port in the country, noting that two-thirds of the cost was borne by the Kerala government.
The chief minister pointed out the state government provided Rs 5,370 crore and Rs 86 lakh out of 8,867 crore, while the Union Government allotted Rs 818 crore as part of the VGF (Viability Gap Funding) with the condition of sharing the port’s revenue. The rest of the fund – around Rs 2,497 crore – was borne by Adani Ports.
