No role for Kerala Health Minister in Kuwait as Centre completed all procedures by Thursday: BJP

Kochi: Amid the criticism against the Central Government for denying clearance to Kerala Health Minister Veena George's visit to Kuwait, the BJP has come out justifying the centre's stance. The state government had decided to send Veena to Kuwait to coordinate the relief efforts for Keralites affected by a tragic fire in the Gulf country.BJP state president K Surendran told media at Kochi airport here on Friday that sending the state minister to Kuwait was unnecessary.

“All procedures related to the repatriation of bodies were completed under the Ministry of External Affairs yesterday itself. So why should the Government of India unnecessarily send a state minister to coordinate the procedures?,” asked Surendran. He added that the central government had swiftly completed the procedures to take the bodies of Malayalis to Kerala.

Union Minister Suresh Gopi appealed to the media to avoid creating a political controversy over the matter.  Amid this, Governor Arif Mohammed Khan stated on Friday that the Minister's one-day trip to Kuwait was insignificant.

“There is no point in Minister Veena George spending a few hours in Kuwait. The Union Minister has already gone to Kuwait and made all the arrangements, and the central government has been actively involved in repatriating all the bodies to the country,” he said.
The Governor also mentioned that he is unaware of the legal aspects of the centre's denial of permission to Veena George.

Former union minister V Muraleedharan also backed the central government's decision to deny permission to Veena George's Kuwait trip. Talking to Manorama Online, Muraleedharan pointed out that there is no established system of sending a state minister to a foreign country to coordinate relief efforts related to a tragedy.

“If a minister from Kerala gets clearance to visit a foreign country to oversee the relief efforts, ministers from other states will also follow this. So far, I haven't contacted the External Affairs Ministry seeking an explanation over Veena George's Kuwait visit row. But I think the centre took the stance to avoid establishing an unnecessary system,” he added.

"After the incident happened, the Prime Minister convened a high-level meeting in the presence of the External Affairs Ministry. The MoS MEA, on the directions of the Prime Minister, travelled to Kuwait yesterday. He supervised the repatriation of the mortal remains to India and also the treatment that was being administered to the injured in the tragedy. He will be accompanying all the mortal remains to India. The interests of the citizens of India are safeguarded by the Government of India, so I really don't understand why a particular state minister has to travel to a foreign country to take care of the issues of the people of that state," said Muraleedharan. 

The BJP leaders reached the airport to receive the mortal remains of 23 Malayalis killed in the Kuwait tragedy.
Meanwhile, the Leader of the Opposition in the state assembly V D Satheesan said it was "unfortunate" that the state health minister was not allowed to travel to Kuwait.

"A representative of the state government would have helped to better coordinate the relief efforts. The state's representative would also have been able to help the Union government carry out the relief efforts," he said.
Veena George reportedly waited for hours at the airport, hoping for permission from the Ministry of External Affairs.
(With PTI inputs)