Thiruvananthapuram Mayor Arya Rajendran has once again said she had not written a letter to the CPM district secretary asking for names to fill vacancies in the Corporation's health wing.
"This is a very serious matter and that is why I personally handed over my complaint to the Chief Minister himself," the mayor told reporters at her home in Thiruvananthapuram on Sunday after visiting the Chief Minister at his official residence. Hinting at a possible political conspiracy behind the letter, the mayor said that she was being hounded right from the moment she took over as mayor.
She hoped that the Chief Minister would take up the matter at his level. "In my complaint to the CM, I have said there is a letter circulating in my name and that the truth behind it has to be probed," Arya told reporters. Arya's body language suggested that she was determined to get to the root of the issue.
Though she did not specifically say it was fake, the mayor said that she had not seen the original. She said it was also suspicious that the letter-head and the signature portions of the letter that went viral on social media were a bit hazy. "Only the content part was highlighted, as if someone wanted people to focus just on the what was written," Arya said. She said she could not even say whether the signature looked like hers as that part was a blur.
Arya said that the vacancies were advertised more than a month ago in two vernacular dailies. "The information provided in the controversial letter was already known. The content would have been drawn up based on already available information," she said.
The mayor also said she did not suspect anyone in the mayor's office. "I cannot function as a mayor that way," she said. However, she added cryptically: "It would not be right for me list those I suspect before the probe is completed."
The mayor said the appointments have now been transferred to the employment exchange not because there was anything wrong or illegal about the existing process but just to convince the people that the Corporation was sworn to do things in a transparent manner. "We will soon introduce even more checks and balances to make the appointment process even more foolproof," she said.
After meeting the Chief Minister, Arya also ruled out resignation. Earlier, the party also had taken the stand that she need not resign. “I find that a big joke,” she said about the BJP demand for her resignation. The Youth Congress has promised to begin an indefinite strike till Arya resigns as mayor.
