The proposed visit of Chief Minister Oommen Chandy and NORKA Minister K C Joseph to New Delhi on Tuesday to deal with the ‘Nitaqat’ issue was postponed as the Union Government rose to the occasion on Monday and decided to send a high-level delegation led by Overseas Indian Affairs Minister Vayalar Ravi to Saudi Arabia.
Ravi was assigned with the mission to minimise the impact of ‘Nitaqat’ after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh summoned him for talks on Monday, in the presence of Shivshankar Menon, the National Security Adviser to PM.
Chandy has been told to meet the Prime Minister and others on April 7. By that time, Ravi and entourage will be back from Saudi Arabia.
While the state government remains hopeful to secure a lenient approach from the Saudi Government at the earliest by making use of the diplomatic channels and excellent and long-standing bilateral ties between India and Saudi Arabia, that it will be a hard-earned one is becoming certain.