The government and the Opposition on Wednesday wrangled over the “regularisation of temporary appointments” in the Kerala Institute of Labour and Employment (KILE) by allegedly circumventing the Public Service Commission (PSC) and Employment Exchange routes.
Leader of the Opposition V.D. Satheesan sought to put Labour Minister V. Sivankutty in the dock by accusing the latter of negating the principles of merit and reservation in government appointments and supplanting the criteria with bare-faced nepotism. Mr. Sivankutty, he alleged, had wilfully ignored several red flags raised by the Finance department.
He demanded that the government cancel the “back-door” appointments. Mr. Sivankutty had violated his oath of office by giving preferential treatment to people he had appointed in KILE when he was its chairperson. Political propriety demanded that Mr. Sivankutty quit office, he said.
Mr. Satheesan said the “illegal appointments” in KILE were the tip of an iceberg. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan’s rule benefited only his family and the chosen ones in the Communist Party of India (Marxist). Back-door appointments were the Left Democratic Front (LDF) government’s norm. The government had stacked varsities with the next of kin of party apparatchiks. The government acted as an employment agency for Students Federation of India (SFI) and Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI) leaders.
The employment rate in Kerala was among the highest in the country. The LDF has done little to mitigate the situation. The educated youth were fleeing Kerala’s shores in hordes to eke out a livelihood in other States and foreign countries. Back-door appointments posed a massive burden for the exchequer, he said.
KILE chairman K.N. Gopinath refuted the charges. He said KILE had merely sought government sanction to extend the tenure of 16 contract workers. A Finance department order in 2019 mandated that government institutions seek administrative sanction for extending contract employment beyond two years. KILE followed the rule and routed the request through the Labour department.
Mr. Gopinath termed media reports that Mr. Sivankutty had regularised the employment of 11 temporary employees of the KILE by circumventing the PSC and employment exchange routes brazen falsehood.
BJP State president K. Surendran too the resignation of Mr. Sivankutty.
In a statement here, Mr. Surendran, said that Mr. Sivankutty had violated his oath of office by resorting to backdoor appointments. He also violated the Cabinet decision taken in 2019 that no appointments may be done without prior sanction.
He demanded that all KILE appointments during the tenure of Sivankutty as its chairman be scrutinised.
.A comprehensive investigation must be done into the appointment of DYFI leader at Vanchiyoor, Soorya Heman.
Mr. Surendran alleged that it was clear that the nepotism engaged in by the Ministers was with the tacit approval of the Chief Minister and that all illegal appointments be dismissed from the job immediately.
For a State which was wallowing in financial doom, these backdoor appointments have created a huge financial liability, Mr. Surendran, said.
