Kochi, May 3 (PTI) Congress MP Shashi Tharoor on Saturday said it was bad that none of the speakers at the Vizhinjam seaport commissioning event mentioned the contributions of former Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy in making the project a reality.
Tharoor also remarked that the LDF, which was initially opposed to the project, and the BJP, which had no presence in the area at the time, now want to take all the credit for the port.
“There is a saying in English—success has many fathers, failure is an orphan. Had the project failed, they would have said, ‘Look, we told you it was a bad idea.’ Now that it has succeeded, everyone wants credit for it,” he told reporters.
The Congress MP from Thiruvananthapuram made the remarks after visiting the family of N Ramachandran (65), who was killed in the recent Pahalgam terror attack.
Tharoor said he had been unable to visit the family earlier as he was in Thiruvananthapuram.
“Today, I met his widow, son, daughter and other family members, shared in their grief and conveyed my condolences. They have borne their loss with great strength, and everyone has appreciated them for that.
“I, too, wanted to tell them how deeply sorry I was and to console them, even though it is always difficult to console someone after a loss. I only came to express my condolences—nothing more,” he said.
On the omission of Chandy’s contributions to the Vizhinjam project, Tharoor said it was during the late Congress leader’s tenure as Chief Minister that the first commissioning agreement was signed and the first viable bid was received.
He noted that during the V S Achuthanandan-led government, two bids were received, but the qualified companies had Chinese links, and the Central government did not approve them.
“When Oommen Chandy was Chief Minister, he once met Gautam Adani on a flight, discussed the project with him, and convinced him to bid for it. After the flight landed, Adani said he would call his company and ask them to buy the tender documents,” Tharoor said.
He added that Chandy carried out all the negotiations, signed the agreement, inaugurated the project, and got a rehabilitation package for those affected by the port passed in the state cabinet.
“He did all that and paved the way for the project to move forward. To forget him, in my opinion, is not right,” he said.
Tharoor said both Chandy and Pinarayi Vijayan, as Chief Ministers, played roles in advancing the project, and the Narendra Modi-led central government also extended support, with the Prime Minister eventually inaugurating the port.
“It was a joyful occasion with everyone’s participation. In my view, omitting Oommen Chandy’s name was unnecessary. Acknowledging everyone’s contributions is the decent thing to do. “I would say to this (Left) government: do what you must, but do not forget what others before you have done,” he said.
Tharoor also recalled that during the UDF government’s time, the LDF had strongly criticised the port project.
“They accused us of corruption and claimed it was a massive scam. Those who said such things are now celebrating the Vizhinjam port with immense joy,” he said, adding that the Congress had only worked for the people and to bring about development. PTI HMP SSK HMP SSK ADB
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