Vijayan, Tharoor on dais, PM fires ‘sleepless nights’ salvo at Congress
Visiting Thiruvananthapuram on the birth anniversary of Vedic scholar Adi Shankaracharya, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday inaugurated the country’s first dedicated container transshipment port in Kerala.
Developed by Adani group, the Vizhinjam International Deepwater Multipurpose Seaport worth Rs 8,800 crore represents transformative advancements in India’s maritime sector and will gradually see enhanced capacity for smooth arrival of some of the world’s largest cargo ships.
The event, meant to celebrate a priority national project, yielded major political outcomes also when PM Modi took veiled swipes at the Congress for the presence of two Opposition veterans on the stage with him — CPM stalwart and Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and four-time Congress MP from Thiruvananthapuram Shashi Tharoor. Along with these two, the presence of industrialist Gautam Adani, who has been at the centre of Congress’ attack against the ruling BJP, added to PM’s punch.
“I would like to say to our Chief Minister, you are a very strong pillar of the (anti-BJP) INDI Alliance. Tharoor is also present here and today’s event will give sleepless nights to many people. The message has gone where it was supposed to go,” said Modi.
He went on to mention Adani and said, “I have just returned from the port. When the people of Gujarat come to know that Adani, who has been working there for 30 years, has built such a grand port here in Kerala, they will make him the object of their anger and he will have to be ready to bear that anger.”
As for the port, it will enhance logistics efficiency and reduce reliance on foreign ports for cargo transshipment. The port’s natural deep draft of nearly 20 m and location near one of the world’s busiest sea trade routes strengthens India’s position in global trade.
Addressing the inauguration event where Tharoor said he arrived with great difficulty, the PM hailed Shankaracharya as the unifier of India and recalled the recent unveiling of the scholar’s statue at Shri Kedarnath Dham. “Today itself the portals of Kedarnath temple have opened in Devbhoomi Uttarakhand and today is the birth anniversary of Adi Shankaracharya,” said the PM.
On the importance of the seaport, Modi said so far 75 per cent of India’s transshipment was happening at ports outside India, causing revenue losses.
Crediting India’s erstwhile maritime capacities for its once famed contributions to the global GDP, the PM said India’s coastal states and port cities would become important centres of growth for developed India.
Later, during the day, the PM inaugurated and laid the foundation stone for multiple development projects worth over Rs 58,000 crore in Andhra Pradesh’s Amaravati.
The launch signalled an effective relaunch of the Andhra Pradesh Capital Project in Amravati with the PM, in Telugu, saying: “Indra Lok’s capital was once called Amaravati and now Amaravati is the capital of Andhra Pradesh. Amaravati is not just a city, it is a force, it is the strength that will transform Andhra Pradesh into a modern state and a power that will transform Andhra Pradesh to an advanced state.”
The projects unveiled in the presence of Andhra Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu (TDP) and Pawan Kalyan (Jana Sena) represented the culmination of the ruling BJP’s infra boost promise made to the NDA allies at the time of formation of the government at the Centre in May 2024.
India