CM slams Centre for barring mins’ trips

Thiruvananthapuram: Chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan has come down heavily on the central government for not letting state ministers visit foreign countries seeking aid for rebuilding flood-ravaged Kerala.
Vijayan, addressing a news conference here after returning from his five-day visit to the UAE, said Prime Minister Narendra Modi had agreed in principle for the proposal but later sabotaged the plan due to political reasons. He added that he did not go there seeking alms as alleged by BJP state leaders.

“The non-resident Keralites across the world have come forward in helping the state and hence it is the duty of the state government to meet them and mobilise funds. They are part of our society and hence there is no harm in seeking their support,” said the chief minister adding that the Centre always acted against the interests of the state referring to the adamant stand taken by it when UAE government had offered financial assistance.

“The Centre did not officially intimate the state government why the applications given for the foreign trip of state ministers stand cancelled. It was only communicated by some officials in Delhi to the chief secretary of the state. The Centre should make it clear why the permission was denied,” said Vijayan.

The BJP–led Union government was neither ready to support the state nor allows it to find ways to get back on track after the catastrophic floods, he said while exhorting for the support of Malayali diaspora spread across the world.

“We have to bring back lakhs of people to normalcy. We have to come together for this,” said the chief minister.