THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan criticised the BJP Government at the Centre for not paying attention to the issues faced by Indians abroad.
Launching the approach paper at Loka Kerala Sabha - a platform for Keralite diaspora - Pinarayi urged the Union Government to address the shortcomings of the proposed emigration laws to make it safer and free from exploitation.
Loka Kerala Sabha (LKS), a platform for Keralite diaspora, began its second edition with representatives from 47 countries. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan in his inaugural speech moved a policy paper to address the needs of 31 lakh expatriates in the changing scene of emigration.
It will have provisions to strengthen the contributions of Non-Resident Keralites (NRKs) for rebuilding the state. The 351 delegates representing the meet will discuss the issues and forms a draft for legislation.
Pinarayi criticised the Centre for not paying attention to issues faced by NRKs.
He said the state would put pressure on centre to focus on emigration and expatriates, as the country gets around $800 crore a year as a foreign remittance. "The Loka Kerala Sabha should focus on pushing for a comprehensive emigration policy," said Chief Minister.
He spoke about the activities undertaken by the government to make travelling, skilling, investing, rehabilitation easier for NRKs.
The LKS faced criticism from opposition parties for bypassing the assembly conventions in drafting the bill. Union minister V Muraleedharan who was the chief guest for the function boycotted the event to protest against the state assembly passing resolution against Citizen (Amendment) Act, 2019.
Even as Opposition UDF boycotted the Loka Kerala Sabha, senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi wrote to the state government appreciating LKS and its efforts.
Meanwhile, union minister V Muraleedharan came down heavily on the state government for the Loka Kerala Sabha. The Sabha has turned out to be a political programme, he alleged adding that no discussions were held with the Union Government in this regard.