Congress leader K.C.Joseph, MLA, has accused Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan of pulling the wool over the public eye by untruthfully claiming that the State government had struck an agreement with the U.K. administration to facilitate large-scale employment of Kerala's health workers in the foreign nation.
Mr. Vijayan had posted on his FB account that NORKA-Roots had partnered with a group that provides National Health Service (NHS) benefits to UK citizens. He claimed the move would enable the safe, transparent and legal migration of doctors, nurses and paramedical staff from Kerala to the U.K. Mr. Vijayan asserted Kerala could generate employment for 3,000 health workers in the U.K. in the first phase, which commences in November.
Mr. Joseph attempted to punch holes in Mr. Vijayan's statement. He said the government had entered into a non-binding agreement with the private firm. Mr. Vijayan portrayed the development as a Kerala-UK government-level agreement to "fool the people," he said.
No State government could deal with a foreign nation without the Centre's prior sanction. "It is a fact known even to children. Mr. Vijayan should withdraw the false claim and render a public apology," he said.
Mr. Joseph said it was not the government's job to promote the exodus of Keralites to foreign lands. Instead, it should provide employment opportunities locally. "It tells on the LDF government that even students are leaving Kerala in droves for better education outside by availing themselves of high-interest education loans".
Mr. Joseph's tirade against the government is the latest episode in the row over the European tour of Ministers. KPCC president K. Sudhakaran and Leader of Opposition, V.D. Satheesan, had accused Mr. Vijayan, his cabinet colleagues and their families of using public funds for foreign junkets, which had no tangible benefit for the State and a time when the State's financial situation was shaky.
The foreign tour also found castigatory resonance on social media, with scores of posts trolling the photograph of Mr. Vijayan and others in front of Karl Marx's tomb in Highgate cemetery in North London in England.
