Cong lashes out at LDF govt in Kerala over “back-door appointments” in PSUs

PTI, Nov 9, 2022, 1:52 PM IST

Thiruvananthapuram: The opposition Congress on Wednesday came down heavily on the Left government in Kerala over the alleged back-door appointments being made in various public sector institutions and government departments in the state.

The party-led UDF would expose one by one, such appointments made by the ruling CPI-M’s district secretaries and ministers’ offices without reporting the vacancies to the employment exchanges and the Public Service Commission, Leader of Opposition in the state Assembly V D Satheesan said.

He was speaking after visiting the Congress councillors who have been staging agitation at the City Corporation here demanding the resignation of Mayor Arya Rajendran over a purported letter written by her seeking the priority list of party cadres to be appointed in temporary vacancies in the Left-ruled civic body.

The alleged letter, written to the CPI-M district secretary Anavoor Nagappan, has triggered a political controversy in the state with opposition parties demanding her resignation.

Satheesan said the ongoing Crime Branch probe, ordered by the government, was just an ‘eyewash’ and a ploy to save the CPI-M leaders and the Mayor, facing allegations over the incident.

Prominent CPI(M) leaders are going to become named as accused in the incident, he claimed.

The letter-pad and signature of the Mayor and her letters have already come to surface, but still the ruling party has been maintaining that it was not sent by Rajendran.

It was nothing but hoodwinking the public, Satheesan said.

”Tens of thousands of illegal appointments are being made in various public sector institutions and government departments in the state. The party-led UDF will expose one by one such back-door appointments, made by the ruling CPI-M’s district secretaries and ministers’ offices without reporting the vacancies to the employment exchanges and the Public Service Commission,” he said.

The Left government has cheated the unemployed youths in the state and is appointing only relatives and party members, he alleged.

”The government has given an oral instruction to the department heads not to report even a single vacancy to the PSC to protect those who have been appointed through the back-door.” The LoP also indicated that the UDF would collect information regarding the backdoor appointments and take legal action against it.

Meanwhile, the Corporation headquarters here continued to witness intense protest by the opposition councillors on Wednesday.

Police had to use water cannons to remove the protesters, including women by force from the premises. The controversy erupted after a purported letter, written by Arya Rajendran addressing CPI (M) district secretary Anavoor Nagappan asking the priority list of party cadres to appoint in temporary posts in the civic body, came out in the media on Saturday.

The young Mayor had claimed that the letter appeared to be ”edited” and that she suspects it to be politically motivated.

She also brushed aside demands for her resignation by the opposition Congress and BJP, by terming the same as a ”joke”.