Kerala: Minister R Bindu remains tight-lipped on Rs 30,500 sanctioned by govt to buy eyeglasses

Higher Education Minister R Bindu is alleged to have received Rs 30,500 from the treasury to buy new eyeglasses. However, the Minister opted to remain silent. This comes amid the financial crisis in Kerala. 

Thiruvananthapuram: Higher Education Minister R Bindu got into a controversy after the state government issued an order sanctioning money spent on the purchase of eyeglasses to the minister. The government allotted Rs 30,500 from the public treasury for the glasses purchased on April 28 earlier this year. On the same day, the Minister wrote to the Public Administration Department to release the money along with the bill.

However, it is assumed that since the government was in a dire financial crisis, the sanctioning of the money was delayed. It is also alleged that the Chief Minister intervened and expedited the receipt of the amount. Several CPI(M) ministers have also benefited from the government by buying spectacles in the past.

The Minister remained tight-lipped about the matter during a press conference the other day. She said that the questions related to this do not deserve an answer. When the media persons continued asking questions, Bindu turned off the mic. The issue was raised by journalists when the minister came to participate in the Keraleeyam programme. 

KK Shailaja, who was the health minister in the last cabinet, bought glasses for Rs.29,000. P Sreeramakrishnan, the former Speaker, received Rs 49,900 for the spectacles. Yet the amount purchased by a state minister is written off at the government's cost during an unprecedentedly dire financial situation.