Centre denies Kerala Minister permission to travel to US
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Thiruvananthapuram: The central government has denied travel approval to Kerala Health Minister Veena George to deliver a lecture at the renowned Johns Hopkins University in the United States. The minister sought the Centre’s permission after she got an invitation from the university.
Though the request for permission to travel was sought three weeks ago, George received the communication back only three days ago.
It was only over a month ago that the Centre rejected the request for Kerala's Industries Minister P Rajeeve and his team to attend the American Society for Public Administration (ASPA) annual conference in Washington, where they were invited to speak about the state's 'year of enterprises.'
In a Facebook post, Rajeeve had criticised the Union government's decision, calling it "extraordinary.”
The ASPA had invited them to present on the topic "entrepreneurship ecosystem policy and successful implementation: a case study of the year of enterprises." The conference was scheduled to take place in Washington, DC from March 28 to April 1. According to The New Indian Express, the team included Minister Rajeeve, Industries Department Principal Secretary Muhammad Haneesh, and Kerala State Industrial Development Corporation (KSIDC) Managing Director S Harikishore, who were all set to present papers at the event.
According to Rajeeve, the conference, which would be attended by delegates from 152 countries, only allows personal presentations, and even the event organisers were taken aback by the denial of permission for the Kerala team to participate. Rajeeve condemned the idea of Kerala being excluded from recognition at the international conference.
In light of the Centre's decision, the minister also mentioned that he had inquired with the organisers to see if an online presentation on the topic would be possible.
