Thiruvananthapuram | Keralam Chief Minister V D Satheesan on Wednesday justified his recent chartered flight trip to rain-hit Malappuram and the foreign visits of his cabinet colleagues, saying no money from the state exchequer was spent for the same.
While addressing a press conference after the weekly cabinet meeting, he rejected media persons' repeated questions seeking the details of the private individual who sponsored his charted flight trip and made it clear that he would continue to undertake such journeys in future also.
Satheesan said an acquaintance had arranged the aircraft and declined to disclose his details, questioning the need to reveal it when no government money was spent.
" What is wrong in that? I will travel again if required," he said, adding that former chief ministers Pinarayi Vijayan and Oommen Chandy and other Chief Ministers of the country had also travelled in private aircrafts.
A visiby annoyed CM said the trip was necessary as a major tragedy had occurred in the northern district.
"If I had not gone, questions would have been raised as to why the Chief Minister did not visit the area despite six people dying," he said criticising the media.
While replying to a question, Satheesan said money from the Chief Minister's Distress Relief Fund was not meant to be spent on such journeys.
The Chief Minister also defended the foreign trips undertaken by ministers, saying there was nothing wrong in expatriate organisations buying tickets for ministers to travel abroad to facilitate their official programmes.
He said such trips were undertaken with his permission.
Taking a dig at the previous LDF government, Satheesan said he had a list of people who had travelled in a similar manner but was not making it public.
On the controversy over ministers' vehicles, Satheesan defended Local Self-Government Minister K M Shaji's use of a friend's ultra luxury vehicle, saying there was nothing wrong in it.
He said the official vehicle allotted to Shaji was around 10 years old.
The Chief Minister's Office had also earlier said the chartered flight used for the Malappuram visit involved no additional expenditure for the state.
However, the opposition CPI (M) targetted the ruling UDF regime and CM Satheesan allegating the act as a violation of oath of office.