Thiruvananthapuram, Sep 23: Kerala Chief Minister V D Satheesan on Wednesday declined to disclose the identity of the private individual who arranged his recent chartered flight to rain-hit Malappuram, saying no money from the state exchequer was spent on the journey.
Addressing a press conference after the weekly Cabinet meeting, Satheesan said the flight was arranged by an acquaintance as he needed to reach Malappuram quickly after six people were killed in the disaster.
“If I had not gone, the news would have been that the CM did not even visit despite six people dying. There was no other way to go. An acquaintance arranged the aircraft. What is wrong with that?” he said.
Satheesan said the agreement for the rented helicopter service had expired on September 19 and a decision on its renewal would be taken after assessing the requirement and cost.
He also referred to former chief ministers Pinarayi Vijayan and Oommen Chandy, saying private individuals had arranged aircraft for them in the past.
“I will continue to take such flights if the need arises,” Satheesan said, adding that the Chief Minister’s Distress Relief Fund would not be used for air travel.
“People contribute to the Distress Relief Fund to help the poor. We will not undertake air travel using money from the disaster relief fund,” he said.
The Chief Minister also defended foreign trips undertaken by his Cabinet colleagues, saying such travel was permissible when organisations or individuals sponsored the tickets and there was no expenditure from the state exchequer.
“When applications for foreign travel come before me, we look at whether there is any expenditure involved. If there is no expenditure, what is the problem?” he said.
Satheesan said ministers were encouraged to travel abroad to attend programmes, interact with the Malayali diaspora and learn about developments that could potentially be implemented in Kerala.
He also defended Local Self-Government Minister K M Shaji’s use of a friend’s vehicle, saying his official car was around 10 years old and frequently broke down.
“Can ministers be left stranded on the road while travelling?” Satheesan asked.
The LDF, however, criticised the UDF government over the issue. CPI(M) state secretary M V Govindan described the government as a “sponsored government”, while CPI state secretary Binoy Viswam accused Satheesan of becoming a “puppet in the hands of the ultra-rich”.
Viswam also alleged that “unknown financial powers” were sponsoring the aircraft and helicopter used by the Chief Minister.The allegations by the opposition leaders were made in the context of the controversy over the privately arranged flight and other sponsored travel involving ministers. Satheesan has maintained that no government funds were used for such journeys.
