Chief Minister V D Satheesan on Wednesday said that the UDF government had not put a foot wrong in the Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC)-Adani Vizhinjam Ports Private Limited (AVPPL) deal.
“The government was not aware of the reported deal but when we got wind of the move through media reports we immediately wrote to the Adani Ports expressing our displeasure,” the Chief Minister said at his customary post-Cabinet briefing. The CM also said that AVPPL shares had not been transferred to Terminal Investment Limited (TiL), the subsidiary of MSC, as was widely reported. As it stands, he said there had been no violation of the Concession Agreement the AVPPL had signed with Kerala Government in 2015.
“After we let our displeasure known, they (AVPPL) have formally submitted a letter seeking approval for the deal. But this will be granted only after assessing whether the proposed deal would in any way hurt Kerala’s interests,” the CM said.
The Vizhinjam Empowered Committee chaired by the Chief Secretary will study the impact of the Adani-MSC deal on Kerala. “Once the Committee submits its report, it will be discussed in detail by the government. However, a final decision on approval will be made only after the deal gets the nod of the Central government,” the CM said.
The letter submitted by the Adani Vzhinjam Port Private Limited seeking approval for a change of ownership was discussed by the Cabinet today.
The CM said it was not he but the people who led the previous LDF government who had advance information about the MSC-Adani deal. “How am I supposed to know these corporate moves beforehand. I became CM only on May 18. But when we enquired, it came to light that the MSC was in talks with Adani Ports for over a year,” Satheesan said.
To substantiate his claim, the Chief Minister read out from the CPM mouthpiece Deshabhimani’s June 5, 2026, edition.
The Deshabhimani report, published a day after Satheesan unveiled his ‘white paper’, was headlined: ‘Talks to acquire shares expedited: MSC Terminal will come to Vizhinjam’.
The Deshabhimani reports that talks between MSC and Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone on the transfer of AVPPL shares were progressing. It even said, a month before the deal was announced, that MSC would buy 49 per cent shares.
“The new MD (Geromic George) took charge only on June 11. The only newspaper that knew of the deal before this is Deshabhimani. Who do you think is the newspaper’s source? Who else but the people who led the previous government. So the last government knew that such a deal was in the offing. And now they are trying to heap the blame on us,” Satheesan said.
He then read out a sentence from the report that according to the CM was a clear giveaway that the CPM was aware of MSC’s designs. “Top officials of the MSC company attended the Vizhinjam Conclave organised by the LDF government,” the CM quoted from the Deshabhimani report. (The three-day Conclave held from January 28 to 30, 2025).
He also referred to the Deshabhimani report on July 1, the day after the Adani-MSC Shipping deal was made public, and in which the “Rs-13,000-crore investment” was reported like it was a triumph of the previous LDF government. The CM particularly underlined the sub-headline of the report. “This foreign investment is a victory of LDF government’s foresight”. He then slammed the copy of the paper on the table with his left hand in a manner that suggested ‘should I say anything more?’.
“After that, the entire narrative changed. It was called ‘piracy’, ‘Satheesan-Adani deal’… I was actually enjoying these allegations. There was one media that even reported the two per cent commission that I supposedly received from facilitating the deal,” he said.
The CM said that the CPM had changed its stance overnight. “If they are pointing a finger at me after knowing all that had happened, they should not forget that the four other fingers will be directed straight at their chest,” he said.
Before he responded to questions on the new developments in Vizhinjam, Satheesan had a counter question to the gathered reporters. “What wrong did this government commit in this issue related to the MSC’s move to buy 49 per cent shares of AVPPL?”.
“I have told the Assembly that the government was unaware of the development. There were reports that shares have been transferred. Fact is, no shares have been transferred,” Satheesan said.
The state government is the owner of the port, the CM said. “The AVPPL is just a party to carry out development and operations, and the Concession Agreement has specific clauses related to transfer of shares,” Satheesan said.
Clause 5.3.2 of the Concession Agreement signed between Kerala government and the AVPPL on August 17, 2015, stipulates that any acquisition of 25 per cent or more of the total equity will constitute a change in ownership and would require the prior approval of the state government.
The CM said that Opposition Leader Pinarayi Vijayan did not even bother to go through the Concession Agreement before reading out the Assembly that the deal would scrap the common user facility at the Vizhinjam port and lead to a monopoly. “Here I give a salute to Oommen Chandy and K Babu (The Chief Minister and ports minister when the Concession Agreement was signed). They have inserted a clause in the agreement (Clause 5.8.1) that empowers the government to intervene if the common user facility was done away with,” he said.
When the CM was told about the CPM charge that corruption had motivated him to pick finance and port portfolios, he said: “Pinarayi Vijayan had kept 29 portfolios for himself. Why did he take control of the IT Department which ideally should have been with the industries minister? Was it to indulge in corruption?”
Further, Satheesan said that he did not want any major portfolios like home or finance. “It was my party and other ministers who insisted that I take charge of finance. I took ports because developing Kerala as a port city is a UDF dream project and the coordination required for this is best done from the Chief Minister’s office,” Satheesan said.
