Former Kerala minister and CPM state committee member J Mercykutty Amma launched a sharp critique of Agriculture Department Special Secretary Prasanth Nair on Sunday, accusing the IAS officer of playing the “villain’s role” in a political conspiracy along with Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala.
The allegations came a day after Prasanth publicly dubbed his senior, Additional Chief Secretary A Jayathilak, a “psychopath”. Agriculture Department Special Secretary Prasanth aired his displeasure on social media after news reports emerged that Jayathilak has filed a report against him regarding the missing files at Unnathi.
Taking to Facebook, Mercykutty Amma wrote, “Today Kerala is seeing the news of Prasanth IAS violating all service rules and common etiquette. But in February 2021, we saw him acting as a villain in conducting a political conspiracy.” She referred to an incident when, during a Congress rally in Kollam, then-opposition leader Ramesh Chennithala claimed the Fisheries Department had approved deep-sea trollers worth Rs 5,000 crore. At the time, Mercykutty Amma was Kerala’s Fisheries Minister.
"The media asked me about the allegation, and I clarified that it was baseless. The next day, however, Chennithala released a document revealing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) worth Rs 5,000 crore, signed with an American Malayali. Deliberately, a key fact was concealed." According to Mercykutty Amma, contrary to Chennithala’s assertion that the Fisheries Department had signed the MoU, it was actually signed by Prasanth, the then MD of Inland Navigation. "The aim behind the script was to ensure the support of coastal constituencies for the UDF."
Mercykutty Amma further alleged that her investigation revealed a deeper conspiracy. The Industry Department had held an investment meeting in Kochi, and Prasanth signed the MoU with EMCC International for a Rs 5,000 crore development project—days before the government’s term ended. “This is the same EMCC representative who contested against me in Kundara,” she noted, adding that T G Nandakumar, popularly known as Dallal Nandakumar, supported the candidate.
She recounted the public backlash: "The dishonest accusation emerged that the Fisheries Minister ‘sold the sea,’ something the department knew nothing about.” Despite these allegations, Mercykutty Amma said, “The fishermen didn’t fall for this propaganda; they know what I have done for them.” She highlighted that 97 per cent of coastal constituencies were won by the LDF, though, as she noted, the “Kollam Diocese took up this lie.” According to her, “established interests,” including the Sangh Parivar and the UDF, aligned against her. However, the BJP saw its support in Kundara decline from 15 per cent to 3 per cent in the 2021 assembly election, she added.
Concluding her note, Mercykutty Amma declared, “Prasanth IAS, who worked for Ramesh Chennithala and UDF, is again in the role of villain. The truth will always prevail.”