With Pinarayi, Tharoor staying away, Vizhinjam port expert summit is a tame affair

Port Minister Ahmed Devarkovil and Sports Minister V Abdurahman were the other two ministers who attended the seminar, and their political speeches won more attention than the presentations by the pro-port experts paraded by the organisers.

Related: Church blames Hindutva groups for violence, seeks judicial probe

The anti-nationals tag

Using the occasion, Devarkovil dubbed all those who opposed the port project as anti-nationals.

However, Balagopal and Abdurahman, who stressed the crucial role the under-construction port would play in the future development of Kerala, were cautious about uttering any word that would provoke the agitating fish workers and the Latin Catholic Church, which supports their strike.

Meanwhile, observers said that Vijayan’s staying away from the meeting was part of the efforts of the LDF leadership to mend fences with the Latin Catholic community, which is a powerful vote bank in Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam and Ernakulam districts.

The community, which strongly supported the LDF in the last Assembly election, now feels betrayed by the government, which disapproves of the ongoing agitation demanding a halt to the port project citing environmental and livelihood concerns.

The chief minister, who was keen on organising such a summit as part of a counter-campaign against the Latin Catholic community, is now rethinking his position, it is learnt.

By staying away from the summit, he has indicated to the church leadership that the door was still open for further dialogue and a peaceful settlement of all pertaining issues.

Related: Adani-promoted port makes CPI(M) and BJP strange bedfellows

Tharoor stays away

Interestingly, senior Congress leader and Thiruvananthapuram Lok Sabha member Shashi Tharoor also stayed away from the summit despite being the only Opposition leader invited to address the gathering.

Tharoor later issued a press statement saying he had boycotted the event as the government had failed to settle the anti-port protest amicably.

The state unit of the Congress directed Tharoor not to attend the event as a mark of protest against slapping of criminal cases against Latin Catholic leadership, including archbishop Thomas J Netto, accusing them of conspiring to unleash violence to prevent resumption of construction at the port.

The Congress believes that the untoward incidents, including the attack on Vizhinjam police station by fish workers, were the outcome of provocation by the state government.

On his part, Tharoor used it as an opportunity to prove to his party’s state leadership that he was an obedient leader who would not violate party discipline.

Ministers’ defence

Significantly, while emphatically stating that the port would be completed, come what may, Finance Minister Balagopal said the LDF Government did not want to see the tears of the fish workers.

Balagopal hinted that the hindrances caused by the anti-port agitation could work in favour of Adani.

He also wondered why the agitation had cropped up now given that the project had been in the planning stage for over 15 years.

Yet, he too spoke in terms of conciliation. “The project should go ahead only after removing the concerns of the people,” Balagopal said.

Port Minister Devarkovil once again stressed the LDF line that the coastal erosion was not a consequence of the port’s construction.

“It is a scientifically proven fact,” the port minister said. “Beaches have been restored naturally in both Shanghumugham and Kovalam (areas most affected by erosion),” he added.

Devarkovil also quoted another scientific study to junk the criticism that fish availability had depleted after the port construction began.

“The study says that the fish availability had increased by 16 percent in the 10 years from 2011,” he said. In the same breath, Devarkovil conceded that galloping kerosene prices had hit the coastal folk hard.

It was clear that even Devarkovil, who had made some damning charges against the Church the other day, was speaking the language of compromise.

Organisers in the dark

Eeven when it became amply evident that the invited dignitaries — both experts and top politicians — were not going to make it to the venue, the organisers kept assuring the audience that the chief minister and his Cabinet colleagues would reach the venue during the “summit”.

The organisers were apparently unaware of the political considerations that were playing out behind the scenes.

The absence of the ministers was probably deliberate as, according to sources close to the government, the LDF did not want to politicise the issue at this stage when the possibility of compromise with the Latin Church still existed.