CITU mocks power minister's ignorance of developments in own department

Thiruvananthapuram: The ongoing feud between KSEB chairman B Ashok and staff unions has taken a new turn with the CPM-led trade union CITU mocking Power Minister K Krishnankutty's unawareness about the developments taking place in his own department.

CITU state secretary K S Sunil Kumar, who inaugurated a staff union dharna the other day, lashed out at the minister's alleged ignorance.

"Minister K Krishnankutty says he is not aware of the actions of the KSEB chairman. If he is not aware of the developments taking place in his department, then why is he continuing in that post," the CITU leader asked while speaking on the second day of the indefinite dharna organised by the KSEB Officers’ Association in front of the KSEB headquarters on Tuesday.

Sunil Kumar sought to know whether the KSEB chairman was above the minister. "I am not saying much because of the coalition norms. However, things which need to be pointed out will be said in the appropriate forum," he added.

"When we toured 14 districts, we found that raw coconut was below the leaves. But in Chittoor we suspect whether the raw nuts are above the leaves," he said mocking Krishnankutty, who hails from Chittoor.

However, Sunil Kumar later clarified that he didn’t mean that the minister should resign and leave. What he meant by the statements was that the minister should also realise what was happening in his department.

Chairman has to resolve the issues: Elamaram Kareem

CITU state general secretary Elamaram Kareem said in Kochi that it is the chairman who has to resolve the issues concerning the board.

“There are no issues in the board which cannot be resolved. As a company, if changes have to be made in the decisions taken by the board of directors, then that too has to be implemented by the chairman. The minister has the right to ask the chairman to resolve the issues,” said Elamaram.

"We had urged the power minister to talk to the chairman. The minister will have to intervene if the issues are to be resolved," he said.