Hope deadlock over Vizhinjam seaport ends soon: Tharoor

Senior Congress leader and Thiruvananthapuram MP Shashi Tharoor on Monday urged the anti-seaport protesters at Vizhinjam not to insist on halting the project but said their agitation was justified, and expressed hope that it will be resolved soon.Addressing the media here after his meeting with the Major Archbishop of the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church Cardinal Mar George Alencherry, the Lok Sabha member said it was wrong to call the protesting fishermen ‘anti-national’.Tharoor was referring to the statement of Kerala Fisheries Minister V Abdurahiman that the attempts to obstruct the Vizihinjam seaport construction would be viewed as an ‘anti-national’ activity.Meanwhile, Alencherry, who also spoke to the reporters, said the Vizhinjam issue will be discussed in the Kerala Catholic Bishops’ Council meeting.The Cardinal urged the protesters and the government to come together and resolve the issue.Both Tharoor and Alencherry said that their meeting was not to discuss any one particular issue but talked about various matters in the state.When asked about the Vizhinjam seaport deadlock, Tharoor said he discusses the matter on a daily basis with Cardinal Baselios Cleemis, the major archbishop of the Syro-Malankara Catholic Church.