After Raju, AK Balan may go on Australia jaunt from Sept 17

Thiruvananthapuram: After CPI's minister K Raju drew flak for his ill-timed Germany trip, a key minister in the Kerala government is preparing for a 12-day foreign jaunt even as the state shifts its focus from relief and rehabilitation to rebuilding God's Own Country ravaged by the August floods.

Minister for law, culture, parliamentary affairs, welfare of SC/ST and backward classes AK Balan is to lead a four-member delegation to Australia. The task: to constitute the Australian chapter of the Malayalam Mission under the auspices of the cultural affairs department headed by CPM's Balan.

Sanction has already been accorded for the visit for a four-member team, which includes Rani George, secretary, cultural affairs; Suja Susan George, director, Malayalam Mission; and CP Pramod, private secretary to the minister.

The proposed visit is from September 17 to 28. The trip, first slated for July 7-17, was then postponed to July 31-August 9. The nod for the visit has been granted by the state government, subject to clearances from the central government. However, Onmanorama could not confirm whether the minister would travel to Australia at a time when the state is taking up such a huge rebuilding mission. Balan's home district Palakkad was also hit by the floods. The minister has also been entrusted with the task of fund raising for flood relief from Palakkad.

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A cabinet meeting held on August 30 had decided to constitute a team of ministers and senior government secretaries to mobilise funds for the reconstruction of the state. The ministers will travel to various foreign countries in October, liaison with Malayali organisations there and collect funds. A travel schedule will be prepared soon. They will travel to the following countries to solicit funds: UAE, Oman, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Singapore, Malaysia, Australia, New Zealand, UK, Germany, the US, and Canada. Loka Kerala Sabha members and non-resident Keralite organisations will be enlisted in this fund-collection drive. Balan's proposed trip is unlikely to be part of this mission.

It may be noted that the CPI had publicly censured forest minister K Raju for making an untimely Germany trip at a time when the state was reeling under floods. The party had asked him to return as soon as news broke of the minister's visit which triggered a row and embarrassed the CPI and the state government. The CPI had asked Raju to apologise in public and later the party state secretary had issued a public censure. Besides censuring Raju, the CPI had prohibited its ministers from going on foreign jaunts.

Balan's proposed trip comes in the backdrop of chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan himself postponing his US trip, to oversee relief and rehabilitation measures in the wake of unprecedented floods that wreaked havoc and caused damage worth over Rs 20,000 crore as per initial estimates.

The CM was to leave for the US on August 19 for a 17-day 'medical check-up' at the Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota. However, the unprecedented situation in Kerala forced the CM to postpone the trip. According to sources, he may go for the medical check-up in September, almost coinciding with Balan's proposed Australia jaunt.

Balan was the 'caretaker' chief minister when Pinarayi Vijayan was in the US for a 13-day tour in July. Earlier, EP Jayarajan was the second in command in the cabinet at the start of the LDF rule in 2016. But the charge of nepotism and a series of goof-ups like mistaking the great boxer Muhammad Ali for a local athlete, just six months into office, had led to his ouster from the cabinet. Jayarajan was brought back to the cabinet on August 14 and he was seated to the right of the chief minister during the special assembly session held on August 30. Jayarajan had accompanied the chief minister during his daily flood-related press briefings too.

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