By IANS,
Thiruvananthapuram : Two ministers in the Kerala’s Congress-led government Wednesday said their recent foreign trips were work related and not pleasure trips.
Labour Minister Sibhu Baby John and Social Welfare Minister M.K. Muneer told mediapersons here that their trips were aimed at imbibing innovative ideas and replicating them in the state.
“There is no point in being like frogs in a well. Outside (in foreign countries) there are things to be seen, studied and understood and then replicated for the benefit of the state and its people,” John said.
A section of the media and the Left had objected to the frequent trips made by several cabinet ministers in the Oommen Chandy-led government.
“We get thousands of invitations from abroad but we do not accept each and every one of them. Instead, we go out looking for opportunities that could be good for the state,” added Muneer.
Asked why Chandy was yet to make a single trip abroad, John said: “This question should be asked to him.”
“Wait and see how my trip to Spain benefits the nursing community in Kerala,” said John.
He added: “We get much better hospitality here because abroad we are a nobody.”