Thiruvananthapuram, 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 the port of Vizhinjam, saying that it shows his "manners". .
While the CM did not mention Chandy by name at the event, Kerala President AN Shamseer later said in a Facebook post that the historic moment "cannot be complete without remembering the immeasurable contributions and self-sacrifice of the former Chief Minister Oommen Chandy.”
Meanwhile, Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan criticized the state government by claiming ignorance about the event when journalists briefed him about it.
"Am I not aware? Is the state government organizing the programme? Thank you very much for informing me," he said.
During the event, UDF MLA M Vincent, who represents Kovalam assembly constituency to which Vizhinjam port falls and was the sole opposition representative at the ceremony, referred to Chandy's contributions in making the port a reality.
Speaking at the event after 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 MP and he had faced insults and judicial investigations and vigilance for their efforts.
He said the port came into being through the efforts of 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 everyone must work together, leaving aside their political differences. "Therefore, if the opposition leader (V D Satheesan) had been here at this event, he would have been even better," Vincent said.
Apparently, Satheesan was not invited to the event by the Left government.
Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) chief K Sudhakaran also criticized 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.
"This shows his manners. They don't respect the opposition. We don't expect anything from them," he said.
The CM, in his speech, only referred to the contributions of the leftist government to make the port a reality.
The Congress on Thursday also expressed displeasure over the state government's alleged decision to exclude opposition leaders from the ceremony.
The KPCC also claimed that the project was Chandy's "baby" and asked that it be named after the late leader.
The international seaport 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 IT and automation systems, Vizhinjam will become India's first semi-automated port and is expected to become operational in September or October 2024.
The project, which was scheduled to be commissioned in 2019, was delayed due to issues with land acquisition, various natural calamities and the Covid-19 pandemic.
While the CM did not mention Chandy by name at the event, Kerala President AN Shamseer later said in a Facebook post that the historic moment "cannot be complete without remembering the immeasurable contributions and self-sacrifice of the former Chief Minister Oommen Chandy.”
Meanwhile, Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan criticized the state government by claiming ignorance about the event when journalists briefed him about it.
"Am I not aware? Is the state government organizing the programme? Thank you very much for informing me," he said.
During the event, UDF MLA M Vincent, who represents Kovalam assembly constituency to which Vizhinjam port falls and was the sole opposition representative at the ceremony, referred to Chandy's contributions in making the port a reality.
Speaking at the event after 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 MP and he had faced insults and judicial investigations and vigilance for their efforts.
He said the port came into being through the efforts of 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 everyone must work together, leaving aside their political differences. "Therefore, if the opposition leader (V D Satheesan) had been here at this event, he would have been even better," Vincent said.
Apparently, Satheesan was not invited to the event by the Left government.
Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) chief K Sudhakaran also criticized 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.
"This shows his manners. They don't respect the opposition. We don't expect anything from them," he said.
The CM, in his speech, only referred to the contributions of the leftist government to make the port a reality.
The Congress on Thursday also expressed displeasure over the state government's alleged decision to exclude opposition leaders from the ceremony.
The KPCC also claimed that the project was Chandy's "baby" and asked that it be named after the late leader.
The international seaport 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 IT and automation systems, Vizhinjam will become India's first semi-automated port and is expected to become operational in September or October 2024.
The project, which was scheduled to be commissioned in 2019, was delayed due to issues with land acquisition, various natural calamities and the Covid-19 pandemic.
