Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Wednesday sneered at the contribution of the Oommen Chandy government in the Vizhinjam International seaport project. "It is not just enough to lay the foundation stone. The world's biggest ships are now docking at Vizhinjam," the Chief Minister told reporters. 

"It is not by pushing any ordinary boat into the waters that we are going to inaugurate the port," Pinarayi said with a tongue-in-cheek smile, a sly reference to the CPM's oft-repeated charge that the Chandy dispensation had, during its last days, gone on an inauguration spree of even half-complete projects.

Just an hour before, Minister for Ports V N Vasavan also had used the same gag line to undermine the Congress's claim that the Vizhinjam project was Chandy's vision. "The foundation was laid, but the Chandy government did nothing more," Vasavan said.

Both the Chief Minister and the ports minister said that one of the world's largest shipping companies, the MSC (Mediterranean Shipping Company), had included Vizhinjam port in its Jade Service, which meant that the Vizhinjam port was now connected to all major global ports. "Vizhinjam has now emerged as the face of South India's cargo movement," the CM said.

Then, as if taking a statesmanlike approach,  the Chief Minister said that it had to be understood that the project was not the discovery of this government or the Chandy government before it. "This is the fruition of a process that had begun decades ago," he said.

But he was clear which stretch in the process was the most important. "In the realisation of the project, the last nine years were the most critical," the CM said. "In these nine years, the last LDF government and this had done the most appropriate things. But this was done not for credit but for the progress of the state," he said.

And in the name of progress, Pinarayi said that the LDF government had also set aside its reservations about the agreement inked during the Oommen Chandy tenure. "Under the original agreement, the Kerala government, which was investing more than 60% of the project cost, had no powers or share in revenues.

"For 20 years the state would not have got any revenue. It was only from the 21st year we would have got a 1% share of the operations revenue. And every subsequent year, this would have increased by 1%. We could not have withdrawn from the agreement either as it would have entailed huge compensation," the CM said. 

As a way out, the CM said the LDF government inked a supplementary agreement. "If earlier the state would have received income from the port operations only by 2039, the supplementary agreement advanced it to 2034. If in the original agreement the entire project (the second, third and fourth phases included) was supposed to be completed in 2045, the supplementary agreement advanced it to 2028, which is 17 years ahead of the original schedule," the CM said.

Nonetheless, Pinarayi dodged the question whether he still stuck to his allegation, made in 2015 when he was CPM state secretary, that corruption worth Rs 6000 crore had taken place under Chandy. "There were many disputes before. But we did not  keep harping on them because we prioritised the needs of the state. If we had not honoured the agreement, the state could have even lost the project," he said.

Vizhinjam snub for Satheesan
The Chief Minister said that he had no idea why the opposition leader had decided to boycott the inaugural function. "Did he actually say that he would boycott," he asked, as if it was news to him. "I think he must have been misled by the news that you people gave," he said.

The CM said the inaugural programme was not finalised by the state government. "Since the Prime Minister is involved, a final form will evolve only after the programme is vetted and approved by the Prime Minister's Office. After the PMO's approval, I understand that he too is in the list," he said. He emphasised that Satheesan was in the list forwarded by the state.

The CM disputed the notion that the opposition leader's invite was sent out late. "The invite can go out only at this time, only after it is approved by the PMO. We send invites to those on the list approved by the PMO. That is the procedure," the CM said. 

However, he contradicted the ports minister, who said there was nothing improper in calling the inaugural event part of the LDF government's fourth anniversary celebrations. "This event should have happened earlier, and then it would not have been part of the anniversary celebrations. If this is happening now it is only because the PM could spare time only now," the CM said. "So the opposition leader need not keep away from the event for this reason. We are inviting him once again, and we hope he will change his mind and participate in the event."

Rajeev does a Kummanam
Unlike in the case of Satheesan, the CM said the BJP state president Rajeev Chandrasekhar's name was not on the list approved and passed on to the centre by the state government. "Our list contained only people's representatives. But once the PMO says they wanted a particular individual at the event, we have no choice but to include his name in the list of invitees," he said.

This was similar to then BJP state president Kummanam Rajasekharan finding a prominent place near the Prime Minister at the inauguration of the Kochi Metro in 2017, an event to which former CM Chandy was not invited. 

In a tangential way, Pinarayi expressed his displeasure at the Chandrasekhar invite. "We have not included LDF convenor T P Ramakrishnan or CPM state secretary M V Govindan or CPI state secretary Binoy Viswam in the list we gave to the Centre. We don't do such things."

Grandson's port review
Pinarayi dismissed as frivolous the charge that it was improper for his daughter and grandson to visit the port site in his official car, and attend an official review meeting.

"They were with me because she was my daughter and the boy was my daughter's child. It is a natural thing," he said with a sustained loud laugh as if he had heard the silliest joke. "Perhaps many among you might know that I had carried this boy to many exhibitions that I had gone to," he said. 

But can you compare this visit to review the Prime Minister's security to a visit to an exhibition, he was asked. "There was no review of the Prime Minister's security there (at the port office). There are other mechanisms for that. We just went to see the port operations," he said. 

His daughter and grandson travelling in his official car to the port site was also seen as an impropriety. "Some had wondered whether they should have travelled in my car. It is just that I decided to have them in my car," he asserted.