KOCHI: Even as the state ministers are gearing up for a foreign tour to raise money for flood relief and rebuild Kerala, senior Congress leader Oommen Chandy and other prominent personalities have come out against the proposed tour programme.Chandy said the tour programme of the ministers should be postponed because the presence of Ministers was a must to monitor the relief activities taking place in the state. “With people returning home from relief camps, the relief activities have come to a standstill. The Ministers should be in the state at this point to monitor and take necessary steps to ensure the benefits reach the people.”
Former Indian Ambassador T P Sreenivasan said the foreign tour of state ministers was totally unnecessary. In a tweet, he said “A reported decision by Govt of Kerala to send Ministers abroad to secure donations is unnecessary, undesirable and unprecedented. Indian organisations abroad are already doing their best and assistance from Govts is not in state jurisdiction.”