Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala government always says that the state is in financial crisis and points fingers at the Central government for its misery. But that has not prevented the Kerala government spending Rs. 83 lakhs for just food and accommodation at the ‘Loka Kerala Sabha’, an event for the diaspora. National media has reported the extravaganza of the communist government at the expense of the taxpayers of Kerala.
The Pinarayai government organized the second edition of the Loka Kerala Sabha from 1-3 January this year. The government used tax payers money to pay for the food and accommodation of the delegates participating in the event.
For just 351 delegates, the total cost of accommodation was Rs. 23 lakhs. They were fed with top quality food with breakfast costing Rs. 550, lunch for Rs. 2000 and dinner for Rs. 1,700. All this expense at a time when the Finance Minister, Thomas Issac, is complaining about the scarcity of funds.
It must be noted that the previous Loka Kerala Sabha was not a success. The government had failed to fulfill the promises made at the conference last year.
