Minister says denial of Beijing visit 'not justifiable'

Thiruvananthapuram, Aug 8 (UNI) Kerala Sports and Youth Affairs Minister M Vijayakumar today described as 'not justifiable' the Union External Affairs Ministry's denial of permission to him for visiting Beijing.

Talking to mediapersons here, he said ''the Union Government's stand in this regard is not right.'' He claimed the government did not mention the reason for not granting him permission to attend the Olympics as an official delegate of the State Government.

Disclosing the request to the External Affairs Ministry as suggested by Union Sports Minister M S Gill, the Minister said he had sent the request a month ago accordingly.

Mr Vijayakumar said Chief Minister V S Achuthanandan had sent a communication to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and External Affairs Ministry to review the decision and grant permission.

The Minister claimed that the Prime Minister's office had taken the issue seriously and a reply in this regard was awaited.

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