The decision of the Centre to refuse permission for Kerala Health Minister Veena George to travel to Kuwait and coordinate relief efforts for Malayalees affected by the tragic fire incident in the Gulf nation has been criticised by the opposition Congress in Kerala.
VD Satheesan, the Leader of the Opposition in the state assembly, expressed disappointment that the state health minister was not permitted to travel to Kuwait.
"A representative of the state government would have helped to coordinate the relief efforts better. The state's representative would also have been able to help the Union government carry out the relief efforts.
"The Central government ought to have immediately given clearance to the state health minister. It was a wrong message from the Centre's side," he said.
On Thursday night, George said, "What we just sought from the Central government was the permission to travel to Kuwait to stand with our people affected by the tragedy and coordinate activities there. That permission is denied."
The state government had decided to send George to Kuwait to assist with relief operations, such as providing medical care to the injured and facilitating the return of the deceased.
George purportedly spent hours at the airport, anticipating the Ministry of External Affairs approval.
Authorities had reported that 49 individuals lost their lives in the Al-Mangaf building fire on June 12, with 42 of them being Indian and the rest comprising Pakistani, Filipino, Egyptian, and Nepali citizens.
Around 195 migrant workers resided in the building located in the Mangaf area of southern Kuwait.
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