Why is the Latin Catholic Archdiocese of Thiruvananthapuram trying to stall ongoing construction work at the Vizhinjam port near Thiruvananthapuram? Are the rulers of Dubai bribing them? These are some questions that many in Kerala are mulling over.
The church is led by Monsignor Eugene H. Pereira, vicar general of the Thiruvananthapuram Latin archdiocese. Their dubious demands are to halt the port’s construction until a committee ‘studies its impact on coastal erosion and kerosene subsidies for running fishing boats’.
Videos emerged of a Latin catholic priest speaking on stage at the protest site. He said that the Ruler of Dubai has noted their protests and sent a messenger with a HUGE (emphasized) amount as a donation. The priest’s acceptance of the amount shows that the church obtains money from foreign nations to incite violence and burn down police stations in Kerala.
A follower from the Dubai unit of the Latin church arrived with an envelope filled with cash. the catholic priest claimed, clarifying that the ‘Dubai ruler’ liked the protests and asked the messenger to give a handshake for the Vizhinjam protests. Along with the handshake, the priest then accepted the HUGE amount. So the church has openly accepted bribes to act against Bharat. If this is not proof of treason, then what is?
Around 1,000 church followers are sitting in protest on a rotation basis at the project site in Mullur (the main entrance to the port). These protestors are not locals but are brought in by the church from distant places. They consist of Christians who have lost neither land nor their livelihood due to the Vizhinjam port.
It has been more than one month since hundreds of blind followers, with cult-like obedience, led by the Latin catholic priests halted work at the crucial Vizhinjam port. It is also true that some fisher folks have lost their homes and should be compensated. Rather than demonstrating inside the high-security project site, ideally, they should be protesting outside the Kerala secretariat. Their losses have nothing to do with M/s Adani Vizhinjam Port Private Limited, which is just the project contractor. Vizhinjam International Seaport Limited (VISL) is a government company wholly owned by the Government of Kerala. The seaport i crucial to Bharat’s plans to emerge as a shipping and logistics hub and reduce dependence on foreign ports in the region.
The Communist Pinarayi Vijayan regime sees the Latin Catholic Church-led protests are seen as being politically motivate. The church has openly asked for the Congress-led Opposition’s backing. Rahul Gandhi began his party’s ‘Bharat Jodo’ campaign after seeking the blessings of the same church leaders when he met them on September 12.
For Gandhi, the 2024 Lok Sabha election is a matter of survival; he has to win somewhere or face ouster from politics. Latin Catholic fisherfolks are a solid vote bank in the 20 assembly districts and the Lok Sabha districts of Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Alappuzha, and Ernakulam. They have a history of voting only for Congress leaders. Incidentally, the Vizhinjam port contract was awarded to Adani during the Congress reign of Oommen Chandy in 2015.
Vijayan wants to see the project inaugurated and on track before the 2024 Lok Sabha election campaign. Gandhi and Congress are trying to stay afloat in Kerala (like in the rest of Bharat), and a win from his traditional seat in Uttar Pradesh seems distant. Recent trends from Wayanad (where Gandhi is a member of parliament) show erosion of Muslim votes for Congress.
Congress ally, Indian Union Muslim League, has lost considerable ground in Wayanad and all over Malabar. Radical terror outfits like the Popular Front of India and its political arm SDPI have eaten those votes. Though Congress would love to join hands with them, the PFI has mostly sided with the green communists in Kerala. Vijayan chose appeasement even after the Kerala high court asked the administration to bring in central forces and remove the Vizhinjam port protestors.
Protesters could have used the opportunity to get better facilities for fishing communities in the project area. They chose not to and did it the hard way by halting work. In the long run, the stand-off will hurt Bharat and the fishermen. This stoppage is what our enemies and small nations with huge mother ports want.
Those countries would prefer that ships arrive in their ports, transfer containers onto smaller vessels, and then set sail for Bharat. Colonial-era mindsets and anti-national forces will ensure that home-grown capitalists will pay the extra amount. Once the goods land in Bharat, locals will be squeezed to pay for the additional costs. Some Sri Lankan ports like Hambantota have been leased to China Merchants Port for 99 years. Colombo handles 90 percent of the Bharatiya transshipment cargo at present. Those goods come from Jebel Ali in UAE, and Singapore.
So blocking development of much-needed port infrastructure in Bharat is a continuation of colonial-era exploitation of Bharat, a once pioneering sea-faring nation with solid navies throughout history.
The Vizhinjam port, which has a natural depth of 30 meters, once open will change the region’s geopolitics, commerce, and economics. Kerala, a land destroyed by Communism and Nehruvian Marxism, sees the port as a ray of light. A fully-functional Vizhinjam port will be able to accommodate the most prominent shipping and container vessels available today. A significant chunk of income for Hambantota, Jebel Ali, and Singapore would cease. Economics and greed are driving some of these nations to take the easier route and stall proceedings, and of course there is no dearth of BreakingIndia forces in our ‘secular democracy’ who are willing to collaborate with foreign powers.
One hopes that voices of true locals are heard and the Vizhinjam project goes ahead.
