Kerala local self-government minister KT Jaleel was deputed by Kerala government to visit Saudi Arabia for on-the-spot assessment and to meet those languishing in labour camps there. The Centre's decision to deny diplomatic passport to a Kerala minister to visit Saudi Arabia to meet those languishing in labour camps has come in for criticism with Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan saying it was "unfortunate". "The Centre's stand denying permission to the state minister to travel to Saudi Arabia on a diplomatic passport is mysterious," he told reporters. On Thursday, the External Affairs ministry had sent an e-mail message denying diplomatic passport to Jaleel. Kerala Local self-government minister, K T Jaleel, had been deputed by the state government to visit Saudi Arabia for an on-the-spot assessment of the situation there.

Source: dna August 05, 2016 13:41 UTC