Political undercurrents mark Vizhinjam port inauguration by PM Modi

In this image released by PMO on May 2, 2025, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Kerala Governor Rajendra Arlekar, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, Adani Group chairman Gautam Adani and others at the newly-inaugurated Vizhinjam International Seaport, in Thiruvananthapuram.
| Photo Credit: PMO

The official commissioning of the Vizhinjam International Seaport by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday (May 2, 2025) appeared punctuated with national and provincial politics. 

Mr. Modi, who dedicated the facility to the nation, seemed to take an oblique dig at the Congress’ national leadership by observing that two prominent INDIA bloc leaders – Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and Shashi Tharoor, MP, – shared the high-profile stage with him.

“It might make some quarters uncomfortable,” Mr. Modi quipped. The Prime Minister also joked about the translator missing the political punchline.

Mr. Modi also satirically seized on State Fisheries Minister V.N. Vasavan’s words for political point-scoring. Mr. Vasavan said the Kerala government had “found a partner” in Adani Ports to make Vizhinjam a reality.

Mr. Modi said he saw some novelty in a Communist government reckoning a private sector entity as a reliable partner in a flagship infrastructure development project. “Private-government partnership is crucial to the country’s development”, he noted. 

Mr. Modi appeared to have used the moment to indirectly dispel Congress’ criticism that the Central government favoured the Adani Group. 

Mr. Modi commenced his speech by stating he was “fortunate to step on Padmanabhan’s land”, referring to the landmark Sree Padmanabhaswamy temple in Thiruvananthapuram.

He noted that the country observed May 2 as Adi Sankara Jayanthi, an eighth-century Hindu seer believed to have been born in Kalady in Kerala. 

Homage to Pope

Mr. Modi paid homage to the late Pope Francis in the predominantly Latin Catholic locality. He remembered St Thomas, one of the 12 Apostles, who Christians believe had arrived in Kerala in 52 BC.

Mr. Modi saluted the crowd by stating ‘Jai Bharath and Jai Keralam’, signalling that the Centre was “in lockstep with the State” on welfare and development issues. 

Meanwhile, Mr. Vijayan sought to make a political point by underscoring that Kerala had borne 60% of the project cost. He noted that the Centre had limited itself to (a relatively less and repayable) viability gap funding. 

Mr. Vijayan appeared to leverage the national stage to counter the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Congress’ assertion that the Left Democratic Front (LDF) government was falsely taking credit for a Central scheme. He also highlighted the challenges the LDF had overcome to make Vizhinjam a reality.

Mr. Vasavan described Mr. Vijayan as “the driving force” behind the Vizhinjam port. 

Awkward moment 

The event also had its arguably awkward moments.

Tourism Minister P.A. Mohamed Riyas stated that the presence of BJP State president Rajeev Chandrasekhar on stage at the behest of the Prime Minister’s Office was “undemocratic.”

Mr. Riyas accused Mr. Chandrasekhar of political impropriety by allegedly attempting to turn the State function into “a BJP political event.”

Mr. Riyas asked journalists to turn their television cameras towards the stage where Mr. Chandrasekhar had seated himself well ahead of the function’s commencement, raising his fist occasionally in support of BJP workers’ loud sloganeering.

“Ministers are sitting with the audience when the BJP State president is raising his hand to political sloganeering by his party compatriots. Kerala will not forgive him for the untimely and absurd political theatre aimed at robbing the momentous national and international importance of the port’s commissioning”, Mr. Riyas told reporters.