Minister for Sugar Charan Jeath Singh and Opposition Member of Parliament Ketan Lal, who were both at the COP 29 meeting in Baku have exchanged harsh words on social media.
Mr Lal stated despite pushing his way into the delegation at the last minute, after it had already been finalized, Mr Charan’s presence in Azerbaijan added little value to Fiji’s efforts.
“He traveled in business class, with stopovers in Sydney and Dubai, all at the expense of taxpayers, yet only managed to attend two side events during the entire trip in Baku Azerbaijan,” said Mr Lal.
“Even more troubling is that his speeches at these events were written by the same hardworking staff who were tirelessly negotiating on Fiji’s behalf until the early hours of the morning.”
Mr Lal claimed Mr Singh was “lost and found” during the whole conference.
“This is a blatant misuse of government funds and resources. Minister Charan not only wasted taxpayers’ money but also collected a hefty allowance for what amounted to a ceremonial appearance.”
Mr Singh also posted a rebuttal on social media, stating “I am not like you here as a lapdog of another political party wasting Fiji’s taxpayers fund.”
“By the way I didn’t even hear you on any side events at this COP29.”
“You should be ashamed of traveling on the strength of Peoples Alliance majority led Government.’
“Please refund all your air ticket and per diem claims to the state if you walk your talk.”
