THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: An amount of Rs 72,500 was spent on pens presented with New Year's diaries to community leaders who attend government meetings. If you think there is nothing unusual regarding this, read on. The pen was given to 120 members of two Christian and Muslim organizations, and the renaissance committee formed after the Sabarimala issue. That means, the price of a pen is Rs 604 !

Shine A. Haque, Additional Secretary of Public Administration, directed that the expenditure be paid to the Secretary of the Government Secretariat Staff Co-operative Society. The money will be transferred to the account of the SBI Thiruvananthapuram City branch in the name of the Society Secretary.

In the past, community leaders were given government diaries and wallets from the Assembly. Pen with government seal is not usually bought or given to anyone. The question arises as to why he bought the pen at a cost of around Rs 75000 during the financial crisis.

Recently, the Chief Minister had a meeting with religious and community leaders across the state. It has been alleged that part of the cost was allocated in this manner.

The incident comes to light after the report that secretaries at the secretariat drank tea worth Rs 14.11 lakh during the nine months of Covid.