Permission denied to Kerala Industries Minister to travel to US for conference

Thiruvananthapuram: The Centre has rejected the request for Kerala's Industries Minister P Rajeeve and his team to attend the American Society for Public Administration (ASPA) annual conference in Washington, where they were invited to speak about the state's 'year of enterprises.'

In a Facebook post on Wednesday, Rajeeve criticized the Union government's decision, calling it "extraordinary.”

The ASPA had invited them to present on the topic "entrepreneurship ecosystem policy and successful implementation: a case study of the year of enterprises." The conference is scheduled to take place in Washington DC from March 28 to April 1.

According to TNIE, the team included Minister Rajeeve, Industries Department Principal Secretary Muhammad Haneesh, and Kerala State Industrial Development Corporation (KSIDC) Managing Director S Harikishore, who were all set to present papers at the event.

The central government has refused to grant permission for Kerala's Industries Minister P Rajeeve and his team to travel to the US. In a Facebook post, Rajeeve expressed regret, stating that Kerala had lost an opportunity to represent itself proudly on the global stage, the TNIE reported.

The team, led by Rajeeve, had planned to travel to Washington DC on March 28 and return on March 30.

According to Rajeeve, the conference, which would be attended by delegates from 152 countries, only allows personal presentations, and even the event organizers were taken aback by the denial of permission for the Kerala team to participate. Rajeeve condemned the idea of Kerala being excluded from recognition at the international conference.

In light of the Centre's decision, the minister also mentioned that he had inquired with the organizers to see if an online presentation on the topic would be possible.