Kerala ministry gives LCD TVs as Vishu gift to ministers, prompts outrage

It was set to be a happy new year for 141 MLAs in Kerala when the Kerala agricultural ministry decided to surprise them on the occasion of Vishu, with brand new LCD televisions.  However, the move has been widely condemned at a time when the state is dealing with a water and electricity shortage. And not surprisingly, the television sets that were gifted by agriculture minister KP Mohanan were purchased at a cost of Rs. 16.92 lakh using public funds, a Times of India report stated. [caption id=“attachment_696886” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Representational picture. Reuters[/caption] “We did it as almost all departments had given such gifts in the past. High-end mobile phones and iPads have been gifted. Our gift costs only Rs 12,000 per piece,” Agriculture Minister KP Mohanan, was quoted as saying, adding that the decision was taken before the crisis took place. Mohanan denied allegations that the department diverted funds meant to help farmers, instead, the entire amount was mobilised by the PSE’s. Though some party sources have hinted the minister’s largesse may have been motivated by the fact that his ministry distributed boxes of sweets last year while others gave grand ones. While Speaker G Karthikeyan defended the move saying there’s nothing wrong in giving ‘gifts’ to the ministers, the decision has not gone down too well with farmer unions and citizens, who have condemned the decision, an Economic Times report stated. However, Jose Kalappura, president of Kerala Pineapple Farmers Association, had a pragmatic view of the entire scenario and pointed out that the televisions weren’t the best gift given that the state is suffering from a power shortage. However, this isn’t the first time the Kerala government has been gone on a gifting spree. “After the last budget, Mohanan had given water purifiers to the MLAs and bags to the personal staff of ministers  and MLAs," an Opposition MLA was quoted as telling _ T_ he New Indian Express.