Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy on Friday met External Affairs Minister (EAM) Sushma Swaraj to express his concerns over merger of the Ministry of Overseas Indian affairs (MOIA) with the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA).
"Kerala is opposing the Union Government's decision of merging the MIOA and MEA. For the first time in the country, we have formed a ministry for Keralites who are living outside the country," Chandy told ANI.
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"According to our experience the ministry is very useful and we are continuing that system, so in Delhi also the Overseas Indian Ministry should continue which will help Indians living outside the country," he added.
The Union Government had earlier announced its decision to MOIA with MEA.
The proposal for merger was cleared by Prime Minister Narendra Modi said EAM Sushma Swaraj in a tweet.
"I realised that substantial work of MOIA is done through our missions abroad. Therefore, I proposed to Prime Minister that MOIA should be merged with ministry of external affairs," Swaraj said in a tweet.
MEA spokesperson Vikas Swarup said the said the decision to merge both the ministries has been done keeping with its broad principle of minimum government, maximum governance.
