Yet another classic example of Kerala’s extravagance has surfaced in the media where shocking details of money spent during the recent Loka Kerala Sabha (LKS) questions the very conscience of people in the state. Documents reveal that Rs 2000 was spent for providing lunch for each delegate who participated in the meet while more than 600 Rupees was spent for breakfast.
Loka Kerala Sabha (LKS) is a global meet of Keralite diaspora settled outside the state and it was first launched by the Pinarayi Vijayan government in 2018 and the expenses for the second edition held over three days from January 1-3 has come out with revealing figures, at a time when the state is having a hand to mouth existence.
Breakfast for one person had cost Rs 550+tax, for lunch Rs 1900+tax and dinner Rs 1700+tax. The food was catered from a five-star hotel. Lunch at this rate was provided to a total of 700 persons, breakfast for 400 and dinner for 600. For three days, Rs 60 lakh was spent for food alone and Rs 23 lakh for accommodation. Another bill of Rs 4.5 lakh regarding security guards and drivers of the delegates was also passed.
With Kerala Finance Minister Thomas Issac time and again crying foul on the precarious financial position of the state, reports have emerged which show massive spending at a conference held here for the diaspora. Rs 83 lakh has been spent just for food and accommodation.
Nevertheless, Issac and Vijayan have been still blaming the Centre for not giving Kerala its due share of taxes and say that one of the reasons for the state”s poor financial position is because of that.
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