Foreign trips of eight ministers: CM says sponsorship details are not secret but fails to clarify who paid

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Chief Minister V. D. Satheesan has failed to disclose who funded the private foreign trips of eight ministers in a reply to a question in the Legislative Assembly. Although the government has stated that the ministers travelled abroad in their personal capacity, it has not clarified who bore the expenses.

The ministers who undertook these trips include O. J. Janeesh, K. M. Shaji, Ramesh Chennithala, Mons Joseph, Bindu Krishna, Shibu Baby John, V. E. Abdul Gafoor and T. Siddique. All the visits were made with the approval of the Ministry of External Affairs. However, the government's response has been limited to stating that the trips were undertaken in the ministers' personal capacity, without identifying who paid for them. Of the foreign visits mentioned, only P. C. Vishnunadh's trips to Bahrain and the UAE were classified as official visits.

The Chief Minister also told the Assembly that details of sponsors of official foreign visits were not being kept confidential. His response comes amid questions over who sponsored the aircraft for his visit to Malappuram, an issue on which he has yet to provide a clear answer.

Replying to a question on whether details of those bearing the official travel expenses of the Chief Minister and ministers were being kept secret, Satheesan said they were not. He also said he was unaware of allegations that well-wishers had offered to provide aircraft free of charge for his foreign visits.