VD Satheesan, Leader of Opposition (LoP) in Kerala, on Monday, October 10, slammed Chief Minister (CM) Pinarayi Vijayan and other cabinet ministers over the alleged lack of transparency in their foreign trips and demanded that they inform the public about the outcome of such “official” trips. Satheesan said that when the CM is going for a foreign trip with government money, they should give a clear progress report, along with the reasons for their trip. The LoP was talking about Pinarayi’s ongoing Europe tour, where the CM met with various industrialists and startup founders and invited them to invest in Kerala. The CM is travelling along with his wife Kamala, daughter Veena and grandson. General Education Minister V Sivankutty, his wife and Industries Minister P Rajeeve are also part of the delegation.
“The public are watching these trips which the CM is taking with his family,” said Satheesan, who went on to add that, at a time when the ruling LDF government and its politicians are facing several allegations and criticism from the general public, it is necessary for the government to clearly inform the public about the outcome of such trips.
“We should be able to clearly tell what the government is able to achieve from these trips. Neither the people of Kerala nor us in the Opposition are aware about why the ministers or CM go for these trips,” said Satheesan. He added that these foreign trips lack any kind of transparency.
Meanwhile, CM Pinarayi Vijayan on Friday, October 7, informed that Kerala will host an investment meet of well-known Norwegian companies in January next year. The Indian representatives of the Norwegian companies who have investment interests in the southern state would take part in the proposed meet, said Pinarayi.
The Chief Minister's visit to Norway is part of the European trip, which would also cover England and Wales, and is envisaged to woo more investments to Kerala in the IT sector, meet stakeholders in Ayurveda and tourism sectors and also to understand the educational models in those countries. The trip is scheduled to be wrapped up by October 12.