Thiruvananthapuram, Sep 21 — The V.D. Satheesan government has ruled out holding the Loka Kerala Sabha in its existing format, making it clear that there is no change in the UDF government's decision to discontinue the controversial platform set up by the previous LDF regime.
The Chief Minister’s Office said in a statement on Monday that organising the Loka Kerala Sabha in the manner in which it was conducted during the LDF government was not under the government’s consideration.
It also made it clear that not a single rupee has been earmarked for the sixth edition of the Lok Kerala Sabha in the coming financial year.
The clarification came amid indications of differing views within the ruling front and media reports in major dailies on Monday that Satheesan has backed out from what he said as the Leader of Opposition.
Loka Sabha was conceived as a common forum for expatriate Malayalis to participate in discussions on Kerala’s development and issues concerning the diaspora, but the then Congress-led UDF opposition had kept out of this during the then-Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan-created event.
"The decision that the Loka Kerala Sabha will not continue is a political decision of the UDF. There is no change in it," the Chief Minister’s Office said.
The government, however, has clarified that this does not mean that programmes relating to expatriate welfare or engagement with the diaspora are being discontinued.
The Loka Kerala Sabha Secretariat already has an office, and funds have been provided only for its administrative expenses, the statement said.
Funds have also been earmarked for programmes conducted through NORKA, including business leadership meets and other initiatives involving expatriate Keralites.
The government said the welfare of expatriates remains one of its primary areas of focus.
The allocation is also intended to meet the preliminary expenses involved in implementing proposals relating to expatriate welfare, it said.
The Loka Kerala Sabha had become a major political flashpoint during the previous government, with the UDF, then in Opposition, repeatedly accusing the LDF of spending public money on an extravagant event.
Satheesan himself had strongly criticised the platform, and the UDF had boycotted its official sessions.
The fifth edition was held in Thiruvananthapuram in January, with more than 500 delegates representing 125 countries and 28 Indian states participating.
The UDF stayed away from the event.
The latest government clarification effectively closes the door on a sixth edition in the format followed by the LDF government.
At the same time, the decision leaves scope for the new government to engage with expatriate Malayalis through NORKA programmes and other welfare-oriented mechanisms rather than through a large-scale Loka Kerala Sabha.