Thiruvananthapuram: The Central Government has denied travel clearance to Kerala Health Minister Veena George, who was scheduled to travel to the United States to deliver a lecture at Johns Hopkins University.
According to the minister’s office, she had received an official invitation from the renowned university to speak at a global health event. The minister had applied for political clearance from the Ministry of External Affairs three weeks ago, but the request was denied without a stated reason.
Sources close to the minister expressed disappointment over the decision, highlighting that it was an opportunity to present Kerala’s achievements in public health, especially its globally recognized management of the COVID-19 pandemic and Nipah virus outbreaks.
Opposition parties and several health experts have criticized the move, calling it politically motivated and a setback to international academic collaboration. The state government has not yet issued an official response but is expected to raise the matter formally with the Centre.
This is not the first time such a denial has occurred; travel restrictions on state ministers for international conferences have drawn controversy in the past as well.
