Opposition leader V.D. Satheesan inaugurating a public meeting organised by the district wing of the United Democratic Front in Kochi to highlight the role of former Chief Minister Oommen Chandy in the Vizhinjam port project.
| Photo Credit: R.K. Nithin
Opposition leader V.D. Satheesan on Friday said the Vizhinjam port project was the United Democratic Front’s dream child realised by the determination of late Chief Minister Oommen Chandy.
The Left Democratic Front had always opposed it. It failed to realise that the project could be made a reality only with the support of the private sector, he said at a programme organised here by the UDF’s district wing to celebrate the role played by Oommen Chandy and the UDF government led by him that laid the foundation for the mega project.
Mr. Satheesan recalled that Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, who was then the CPI(M) State secretary, had alleged that the project was a ₹6,000-crore real estate scam. “The party mouthpiece Desabhimani had then termed it a ‘robbery’. Today, it has turned a dream project for them. People will not forget the contributions made by Oommen Chandy even if Mr. Vijayan failed to mention his name at the official start of the trial run of the port,” he said.
The Opposition leader asked the government to explain the steps it had taken to develop the rail and road connectivity for the project. The UDF had warned the government about the impact of the project on the fisherfolk. Though the LDF and the Bharatiya Janata Party tried to scuttle people’s protests, the UDF stood by them, he said.