Thiruvananthapuram: The Kerala government's year-long bar on state-sponsored celebrations has upset the ministers who claimed they were not even consulted over the matter. The official declaration in this regard came on Tuesday, but chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan had made the decision ahead of his US trip that commenced early on Sunday morning.

When the state’s general administration department came out with the order, some ministers in the Kerala Cabinet were caught unawares. One among them, culture minister A K Balan even wrote to the state chief secretary, seeking a clarification on certain points. That, effectively, proved the Cabinet was not unanimous on the matter.

Evidently, no consultations preceded the government’s decision to freeze all its celebrations till next Onam. The events would include the annual international film festival, youth festivals at school and college levels, and all the routine festivals organised by several state departments.

Not many in the Cabinet say they doubt the ‘good intention’ behind the decision, but the ‘unilateral’ way it was carried out has not gone down well with them. For instance, the state-organised events for this month include the Kerala Travel Mart aimed at promoting tourism; however suspense hangs above the Kochi event that was planned from September 26.

Tourism minister Kadakampally Surendran wants the KTM to be held as per schedule, maintaining that it was conceived as a business event and not any celebration. The minister wants the government to grant the event Rs 2 crore as earlier decided, he notes in an official file.

There is a blanket ban on tourism celebrations in the state for a year. The tourism department is keen to organise the prestigious Nehru Trophy boat race that was delayed this time owing to the floods. Its top officials wonder how the state can get back to its track if there was a ban imposed on events that boosts its economy and draw tourists. They believe that an official air of gloom will only dull the state economy further, adding that holding regular celebratory events was one way of restoring normalcy.

The 23rd edition of the International Film Festival of Kerala (IFFK) was planned for this year-end. In fact, Minister Balan was scheduled to hold consultations with the functionaries of the Kerala Chalachitra Academy to further firm up the December 7-14 event. However, the government’s shock announcement came, triggering surprise and later resentment.

As for the academic-level youth festivals, their organisers ended up cutting a sorry figure with the ban. In the morning, the General Education director had put out a declaration urging people not to go by social media reports and speculations on the conduct of the school youth festival. The government has not decided to drop it this year, he said, only to be superseded shortly with the message on government’s year-long ban on such celebrations, including youth festivals at school and university levels besides those organised by the youth welfare department.

In fact, the government announcement calls for donation of all the funds earmarked for such celebration to the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund opened in the wake of the August calamity. Any celebration either organised or sponsored (or both) by the government stands cancelled for one full year, the order stated.

Initial decision was on no-frill festivals: Balan

The initial instruction from the Chief Minister was to avoid ostentations associated with any state-sponsored festivals, Minister Balan said, claiming that the Tuesday order on matter lacked clarity. It’s like the order has even been wrongly interpreted, he added.

It won’t be wise to cancel youth festivals, which can provide balm even to the calamity-affected, according to Balan, who holds the portfolio of culture among others. No different is the case with IFFK, he said, demanding the government to reconsider its decision and hold all the scheduled festivals but without its share of luxuries.

Balan’s colleague, Minister K T Jaleel, though struck a contrasting note. He said it was “humane” on the part of the administration to cancel festivals amid a massive tragedy the state’s people continued to face in the aftermath of the August floods and landslides.

Jaleel holds charge of local administration, which is tasked with organising the state’s youth festivals that have got cancelled for this year. So, he is with the CM on the matter, but that is not the case with most of his colleagues.