The central leadership of the Congress has conveyed to the Kerala party leaders its displeasure about the State’s decision to rope in the Adani Group, which is alleged to be close to the BJP, for the dream project — Rs7,525 crore Vizhinjam International Deep-Water Multipurpose Seaport in Thiruvananthapuram district.
Concerns are now being aired that the alleged displeasure of the Congress high command in the matter could push the ambitious project into uncertainty once again. The Kerala Government had on June 10 decided to award the contract for construction and operation of the proposed port to lone bidder Adani Ports and SEZ ltd under PPP model.
The State Government was expected to issue the order on contract and the letter of consent by July 3 but these formalities have not been fulfilled so far allegedly due to the displeasure of the top Congress leadership over the association with the Adani group. However, the Government on Tuesday rejected reports in this regard.
The Congress high command is said to be sore over the decision of the State Government to hand over the project to the Adani Group, said to be close to BJP president Amit Shah and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, mainly because this alleged connection is perhaps the only weapon the party has got to counter the BJP’s charges against the UPA on crony capitalism.
The Congress high command is said to be unhappy about the decision of Chief Minister Oommen Chandy to hand over the project to Adani without getting its clearance. The high command is also of the opinion that Chandy had gone out of his way to rope in the Adani Group for the Vizhinjam port project.
The Chief Minister during a recent visit to Delhi had sought an appointment with the Congress president but his request was turned down reportedly in this context. However, State Ports Minister K Babu, a loyalist of Chandy, said that the Government had not talked with the Centre about the project and that the delay in the project was being caused purely by technical problems.
“Who said there is opposition to the projectIJ Nobody has said. Why should I comment on reports of unknown originIJ” was the response of Chief Minister Chandy when asked about the unhappiness of the party leadership. Chandy is of the firm position that the Government cannot withdraw from the project at any cost.
According to sources, senior State Congress leaders like PCC chief VM Sudheeran and Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala had opposed the move to award the contract to the Adani group without the clearance of the high command but Chandy had overcome such objections with the argument that there could be no compromises in matters of development.
“The high command may naturally feel unhappy over the act of a Congress Government of handing over a huge project to Adani, a close associate of Narendra Modi, especially when this association is being used to counter the charges of crony capitalism against the UPA,” said a senior leader belonging to Chandy’s rival group in the State Congress.
The Government’s success in taking the dream of the Vizhinjam port project to the verge of realisation by finalising the PPP arrangement at the end of 24-year-long efforts was one of the main factors the Congress-led ruling UDF had used in the campaign for the June 27 Assembly by-election in the Aruvikkara constituency. The UDF candidate had won the by-poll.