The Chief Minister’s decision to bring his wife Kamala, daughter T Veena, and grandson Ishaan Vijay during an official review of the port’s operations has drawn sharp criticism from opposition leaders, who accused him of blurring the line between personal privilege and public office.
Published Apr 29, 2025 | 8:42 PM ⚊ Updated Apr 29, 2025 | 8:42 PM
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan accompanied by his wife Kamala, daughter T Veena, and grandson Ishaan Vijay during the port visit on 26 April.
Synopsis: Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan is facing political backlash after his wife, daughter, and grandson accompanied him during an official review of the Vizhinjam International Seaport ahead of its inauguration by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Opposition leaders accused Vijayan of blurring the lines between personal privilege and public office, particularly criticising the presence of his daughter, who is under investigation for alleged financial irregularities.
Days after a controversy over a reported dinner snub by various state governors, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan is facing fresh heat after his family accompanied him on a recent visit to the Vizhinjam International Seaport, in Thiruvananthapuram.
The Chief Minister’s decision to bring his wife Kamala, daughter T Veena, and grandson Ishaan Vijay during a review of the port’s operations has drawn sharp criticism from opposition leaders, who accused him of blurring the line between personal privilege and public office.
The visit on 26 April, intended to assess the progress of the much-anticipated Vizhinjam project ahead of its formal inauguration by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 2 May, included Ministers VN Vasavan and V Sivankutty, Thiruvananthapuram Mayor Arya Rajendran, Vizhinjam International Seaport Limited Managing Director Dr Divya S Iyer, and Adani Vizhinjam Port Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Pradeep Jayaraman.
During the visit, Vijayan toured key operational areas of the port, reviewed facilities at the control room, and inspected container handling methods and crane systems. He also boarded a tugboat to observe port activities firsthand. Officials described the visit as informal.
CM during the port visit
“The Prime Minister will dedicate the Vizhinjam International Seaport to the nation on May 2. As part of this, I arrived in Vizhinjam to understand the progress of the port construction and assessed the situation,” the Chief Minister later wrote in a post on X.
“From the control room, which is equipped with excellence that rivals any modern international port, to the facilities and operating methods, including crane systems, I was able to see in detail. The sea voyage on the tug was an enjoyable experience.”
However, the presence of Vijayan’s family during the review has triggered a political storm.
Senior Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala said the act was “insulting and condemnable.”
“The Vizhinjam port project is not Pinarayi Vijayan’s private affair. Such incidents should never happen again,” he added.
He also questioned the presence of Vijayan’s daughter, Veena, who is under investigation over alleged irregularities in financial transactions, at an official programme ahead of a function to be attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
United Democratic Front (UDF) convener MM Hassan echoed the criticism, noting that while chief ministers have reviewed projects in the past, it is unusual for their family members to take part in official programmes.
He asked whether the Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] was attempting to present the port’s development as a personal achievement of the Vijayan family.
Leader of the Opposition VD Satheesan also hit out at the Chief Minister, accusing him of taking credit for a project initiated by the late Congress leader Oommen Chandy.
In a strongly-worded statement on Monday, Satheesan compared Vijayan to Ettukali Mammoonju, a fictional character created by Vaikom Muhammed Basheer, known for taking credit for everything happening around him.
“Pinarayi Vijayan once alleged that Oommen Chandy committed a ₹6,000 crore corruption in Vizhinjam. His party mouthpiece called the project piracy and claimed fishermen would starve. Nine years in power – and he’s yet to prove a single allegation,” Satheesan said.
He added: “Even if Pinarayi makes Modi deliver a congratulatory speech, the people of Kerala know who truly brought the Vizhinjam port.”
CM’s family members present during a briefing at the port
Meanwhile, the Congress leadership announced plans to organize a district-wide event on 2 May to honour Chandy, crediting him with realizing the Vizhinjam International Seaport project.
Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee General Secretary M Liju said that constituency committees in Thiruvananthapuram would place photographs of Chandy at 10 am that day to mark his contribution.
Liju accused Vijayan and the CPI(M) of trying to claim credit for the project, despite having protested against it in the past. He also criticised the government for allegedly sidelining the opposition from the commissioning event, while inviting the Prime Minister – a move he said showed the growing closeness between the CPI(M) and the BJP in Kerala politics.
Following the criticism, Minister V Sivankutty defended the Chief Minister’s decision.
“Are the CM’s daughter and her child not citizens of Kerala? If this is the approach, even leaders’ children cannot turn left or right,” he stated, adding that no official decisions were made in the presence of family members and stressed that the visit was purely observational, with media and others present.
Despite the clarification, political debate continues over the family’s presence inside the high-security zone of the port.The controversy follows days after opposition leaders alleged that three governors – Kerala’s Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar, Goa’s P S Sreedharan Pillai, and West Bengal’s C V Ananda Bose – declined a dinner invitation from Vijayan scheduled for 27 April at the Cliff House, the Chief Minister’s official residence.
Vijayan and his wife Kamala had reportedly personally visited Raj Bhavan a month earlier to extend the invitation to the governors.
The opposition claimed the withdrawals were due to an ongoing probe into alleged irregular financial transactions involving Vijayan’s daughter, Veena. They suggested concerns over possible political misinterpretations influenced the governors’ decision to stay away.
Ramesh Chennithala alleged that the dinner was an attempt to forge a tacit understanding between the CPI(M) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
He said the absence of a major state or national event raised suspicions about the political intent of the gathering, especially given ongoing investigations involving the Chief Minister’s office.
However, neither the Chief Minister’s office nor the governors’ offices commented publicly on the allegations.
Meanwhile, CPI(M) mouthpiece Deshabhimani countered the claims, stating that Sreedharan Pillai had “outrightly rejected” the existence of any such dinner invitation.
It argued that the Chief Minister already had pre-scheduled engagements that day, including a visit to the family of a terror attack victim in Ernakulam and an LDF anniversary event at Nedumkandam in Idukki, and asserted that “taking into account all these aspects, there was never such an invitation.”
(Edited by Dese Gowda)
