How could Industries Minister E P Jayarajan appoint a relative to a key public sector post without the knowledge of his boss? Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan says he was never consulted. P K Sudheer Nambiar’s was only one of the many of appointments by party honchos to reward their relatives, reports Jayachandran Ilankath, V R Prathap and Jithin Jose.
Right after visiting Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa in Apollo Hospital in Chennai, Pinarayi Vijayan shared it on Facebook. One of his followers lauded the visit: “Very good. Such friendly moves are essential in keeping a cordial relation with neighboring states. But let’s come back to the point. When will you shunt out (Industries Minister E P) Jayarajan?
The CPM and the government it leads have come under relentless attack from all quarters for the appointment of party leaders’ kin to top government jobs.
Comments in the social media had been particularly harsh. Youngsters still hopeful of finding a job pounded the party and the government for ignoring their interests in favor of their relatives.
The CPM claims laborers, including those working in farms, account for 78 percent of its cadres.
Also read rule by kinship series Part-I: How Jayarajan's niece landed a top govt job
Government data says Kerala has at least 30 lakh unemployed youngsters. That explains the barrage of criticism unleashed by the appointments within the families of ministers and other leaders.
The embarrassment of the CPM leaders was evident when we spoke to a minister from the party. He was peeved at the public outrage in what was to be the government’s honeymoon period. “I do not know what had become of him (Jayarajan)… Maybe the chief minister was not paying attention…,” he said.
By convention, the CM is supposed to vet the files related to appointments to public sector undertakings. If the candidate is a bureaucrat in service, the file is handed over by the minister concerned to the CM, who then forwards it for the clearance of the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau.
A ministerial order follows only after the VACB clears the appointment and the chief minister says Yes. Even if the candidate is an outsider, the CM has to approve it.
The CM says he was not kept in the loop when P K Sreemathi’s son P K Sudheer Nambiar was appointed managing director of the Kerala State Industrial Enterprises. Either Jayarajan hid the fact from his boss or Vijayan overlooked it.
Read rule by kinship series part-IV: A press note which landed Jayarajan in the soup
The reporters covering the secretariat, however, were more vigilant. The news was leaked to them. They would have brought it to Vijayan’s notice immediately had he not discontinued the practice of meeting them after the weekly cabinet meeting.
Paper tigers
The CPM brought out a mammoth document after the party plenum in Palakkad. It sets out guidelines for party leaders.
They are advised to keep in mind that they are in politics to serve people. Leaders must show transparency and honesty in whatever they do and keep away from fraud and hypocrisy. Each party member should realize that he is under the constant watch of the people. They should not misbehave with anyone, the document counseled.
Jayarajan was quick to dispel any notion about a course correction. Fresh from the plenum, the central committee member lashed out at the waiting reporters who raised some uncomfortable questions.
The party’s state committee in Kerala followed up the line when it formed guidelines for ministers as soon as the Left Democratic Front was sworn into power. It clearly barred ministers from appointing close relatives in their personal staff or in any other posts. It took hardly four months for those papers to gather dust.
And the party members and loyalists are not amused. When T Naveen was made the standing counsel of the Kerala State Beverages Corporation quite a few eyebrows were raised. Naveen’s mother and Pinarayi Vijayan’s wife are sisters. And the advocate had already been made the standing counsel of the Kerala State Pollution Control Board.
Many advocates loyal to the party have been eyeing the lucrative post of the standing counsel to the liquor monopoly because this entailed big disputes.
Jayarajan went a step ahead. Apart from the now-infamous appointments of Sudheer Nambiar (the son of P K Sreemathi, Jayarajan’s wife’s sister) and Deepti Nishad (who is married to Jayarajan’s nephew), the minister also appointed the son of his brother-in-law’s brother as managing director of a public sector firm under Kinfra at Kakkanad.
M K Jilson is yet to follow in the footsteps of Sudheer Nambiar (whose appointment was canceled) and Deepti Nishad (who has resigned).
CPM state secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan’s brother-in-law S R Vinaya Kumar cemented his position as the managing director of the United Electrical Industries Limited in Kollam after the LDF government came to power. He was appointed by the previous government.
Questions have been raised about his qualifications to hold the post.
At the grass roots
When the party top brass flouts all norms in favor of their family members, others follow suit. State Secretariat member Anathalavattom Anandan’s son and state committee member Koliyakode Krishnan Nair’s son have found the posts of their liking after the LDF government came to power. State committee member S Rajendran’s wife has been appointed as a member of the staff of Minister A C Moideen.
In Kasaragod, the district unit of the party was bypassed to appoint T K Mansoor as the managing director of the Bakel Resorts Development Corporation.
Kozhikode former mayor and party area committee member A K Premajam’s son Premnath was appointed as the general manager of the Kerala Financial Corporation during the term of the V S Achuthanandan government.
Any candidate to the post had to be an engineering graduate and experienced in a company for at least 10 years but these norms were disregarded.
Vijayan furthered the appointment by giving Premnath the added responsibility of the managing director, turning a blind eye towards a recommendation by the Finance Department that his appointment was irregular.
(To be continued…)