THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Centre has denied permission to Kerala Industries Minister P Rajeeve and his team to attend the annual conference of the American Society for Public Administration (ASPA) in Washington to speak about the 'year of enterprises' in the state.
In a Facebook post on Wednesday, Rajeeve condemned the union government's action, terming it as "extraordinary".
The ASPA's invitation was for presenting the topic of "entrepreneurship ecosystem policy and successful implementation: a case study of the year of enterprises'" at the conference to be held in Washington DC from March 28 to April 1.
The minister, Industries department Principal Secretary Muhammad Haneesh and Kerala State Industrial Development Corporation (KSIDC) Managing Director S Harikishore were to present papers at the Conference.
The central government has denied permission to all of them to travel to the US.
"Kerala has lost an opportunity to stand proudly at a world stage," Rajeeve said in the post.
The team led by Rajeeve was planning to reach Washington DC on March 28 and return on March 30.
"Only personal presentations are allowed in such a conference being attended by delegates from 152 countries. Even the organisers are surprised that permission was denied to our team to participate in the ASPA conference," he said.
The idea that Kerala should not be recognised at the global conference should be condemned, he added.
The minister mentioned that he has asked the organisers whether online presentation on the topic will be allowed at the conference in view of the Centre's decision.