Nepotism charges surface after K Surendran's son lands post in RGCB

Thiruvananthapuram: BJP president K Surendran is being accused of nepotism after his son allegedly managed to get a posting at Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Biotechnology (RGCB) based in Thiruvananthapuram.

The new controversy amid the vehement opposition against the appointment of Dr Priya Varghese, wife of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan's Secretary KKRagesh, to the Kannur University.

The Congress and the CPI-M have demanded a probe into the appointment of Surendran's son KS Harikrishnan as Technical Officer at RGCB. RGCB is an autonomous Institute of the Department of Biotechnology, Government of India.

Harikrishnan has a BTech in Mechanical engineering.

It is alleged that the entire process of selecting one person out of 48 who took the test, was on fast track as the three-phased testing process took place in a flash. Harikrishnan was appointed to the post in June this year after the completion of the process.

Kannur CPI-M district secretary MV Jayarajan alleged that BJP activists are able to wriggle in various Central institutions and that a probe was needed for the same.

Youth Congress president and three-time legislator Shafi Parambil said: "What's happening in Kerala is when the Left sympathisers, especially wives and kin of top CPI-M leaders are given jobs on the sly in Universities and state-run organisation, the BJP matches up by filling up their people in Central institutions."

RGCB officials said that the appointment was made a few months back and Harikrishnan is undergoing training and all the mandatory procedures and that protocols have been followed in the appointment. The family history of the candidate is not at all looked into, they said.

(With IANS inputs.)