Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan To Leave For US On Jan 15 For Medical Treatment, State Govt Passes Order To Bear All Expenses

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan will leave for the US on January 15 for medical treatment at Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota, The Indian Express reported.

Vijayan, who will be his wife Kamala and Vijayan’s personal assistant V M Suneesh, will be in US from January 15 to 29.

The Kerala government will bear all expenses in connection with the medical check-up.

Vijayan will travel after he receives the approval from Union Ministry Of Finance and Union Ministry Of External Affairs. These approvals are generally considered a formality.

In December, sports, Wakf and Haj pilgrimage minister V Abdurahiman was given clearance to travel to the US for 20 days for medical reasons. The minister will undergo further treatment at Johns Hopkins Outpatient Centre at Baltimore.

The then opposition Leader Ramesh Chennithala of Congress had alleged that flood relief works being carried out in the state was hit badly because CM Pinarayi Vijayan went away to the US without giving charge of the state to another minister.

In 2019, CPM state secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan underwent treatment in a hospital in United States’ Houston. His wife Vinodini has accompanied him.

The powerful apparatchik, who is known to be a close associate of Kerala Chief Minister (CM) Pinarayi Vijayan, began receiving treatment at a hospital in Houston in Oct 2019. He had briefly returned to Kerala in December and continued his treatment in an upscale Thiruvananthapuram hospital. He later returned to Houston for follow up treatment.

CPM has often touted Cuba as the model to be followed for best practices in healthcare. CM Pinarayi Vijayan had even announced that Kerala was exploring possibilities of getting its doctors trained in Cuba. CM Pinarayi Vijayan had advocated utilising Cuba's expertise in the health sector. CM Pinarayi Vijayan also often hailed Cuba’s achievements in health care and medical education.