A major controversy has erupted over the translation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s speech at the inaugural function of the Vizhinjam International Deepwater Multipurpose Seaport on Friday.

PM Modi’s sarcastic comment on the opposition INDI alliance—”I want to tell the Chief Minister, you are a strong pillar of INDI alliance; Shashi Tharoor is also sitting here, and today’s event will give sleepless nights to several people”—was omitted by the person translating his speech into Malayalam. The translator mistakenly interpreted PM Modi’s sarcastic comment on the opposition alliance as a remark on the civil aviation sector, stating in Malayalam, “Focus should be given to issues pertaining to Indian airlines.”

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The Prime Minister noted the mistake committed by the translator and responded that even if the translator didn’t understand, the message reached the people. “Message chala gaya jahan jana tha,” (The message has reached where it was meant to), the PM said.

The BJP alleged that the translation was inappropriate and that the state government had chosen the translator. The BJP’s response comes amidst social media trolling regarding the translation.

S Suresh, BJP state secretary, said that the event was organised by the state government and the translator was chosen by them as well. “When the Prime Minister is commending Kerala’s development, the translation could have been in pure Malayalam that upholds the language’s cultural pride. I am not speaking too much about it, but it was an event that the whole world was watching. The translation had a lot of English words as well,” he added.

Pallippuram Jayakumar, the translator, has responded to the controversy surrounding the translation errors. He said there were minor issues with the audio output, making it difficult to hear clearly, leading to errors on his part. He added that upon realising the Prime Minister had noticed the mistake, he considered correcting it, but by then, the speech had already moved on to the next section.

The incident has received backlash from several BJP supporters on social media. Karthik Gopinath wrote, “He clearly sends a message to the INDI alliance with its leaders on the stage. The translator tries to play a spoilsport, but PM immediately understands and says, ‘Message is conveyed’. You can’t fool around with a leader like @narendramodi ji! (sic).”

The inaugural function of the Vizhinjam International Deepwater Multipurpose Seaport on Friday has also become a stage for political brickbats. Prime Minister Modi took a subtle dig at the opposition INDIA bloc during the inauguration of the Vizhinjam International Seaport in Kerala, stating that many would lose sleep tonight as he shared the stage with Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and Congress leader Shashi Tharoor.

“I want to tell the Chief Minister, you are a strong pillar of the INDI alliance, Shashi Tharoor is also sitting here, and today’s event will give sleepless nights to several people,” PM Modi remarked, drawing attention to the apparent contradiction of opposition leaders sharing the stage with him.

Modi pointedly referred to State Ports Minister V N Vasavan’s own description of Adani as a “partner”, as a tool to point out the Left’s changing stance towards private partnership. Vasavan described Gautam Adani as a partner of the Left government in his welcome speech.

“It is a happy thing that a communist minister is referring to Adani as a partner of the government and saying that the private sector should be given importance. This is the changing India,” he said.

The Vizhinjam International Seaport has long been a political flashpoint in Kerala, with the ruling CPI-M and the opposition Congress claiming credit for its fruition. While Congress leaders asserted their role in the seaport project, highlighting that it was initiated under Oommen Chandy’s leadership in 2015 through an agreement with Adani Ports during a global tendering process, the CPI-M contended that the project’s realisation was due to the perseverance of Pinarayi Vijayan’s government.

Senior Congress leader and Leader of the Opposition in the Kerala Assembly, VD Satheesan, emphasised the party’s long-term commitment to the project.

“We started this project in 1991 when K Karunakaran was the CM,” he stated, adding that despite multiple efforts, the project faced delays and was finally initiated in 2015 under the leadership of the Congress.

The Congress accused the CPI-M of downplaying the contributions of the late former Chief Minister Oommen Chandy, whose cabinet approved the Vizhinjam project in 2015 and signed the initial agreement with the Adani Group.

The CPI-M, on the other hand, argued that it was the perseverance of the Pinarayi Vijayan government that saw the project through, despite facing massive protests against the port’s construction.

State Ports Minister VN Vasavan’s welcome speech at the inaugural function was laced with praise for Pinarayi Vijayan’s leadership, crediting him for the successful completion of the port. Vasavan also hailed the Chief Minister as the “architect of the Vizhinjam project.”

Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan had also downplayed the role of the Congress-led UDF in Vizhinjam port construction, saying that simply by laying the foundation, ships cannot be anchored at the port.

“Reviving Vizhinjam from the forgotten pages of history and transforming it into an international port is a testament to the willpower and determination of the LDF government in Kerala,” said the Chief Minister.