Thiruvananthapuram, Jan 25 Veteran Congress legislator and former Leader of the Opposition in Kerala Assembly, Ramesh Chennithala, on Saturday made a startling revelation, alleging that 1.8 lakh backdoor appointments were made during the more than eight-year rule of the Pinarayi Vijayan-led Left Front government.
According to Chennithala, these appointments bypassed the state-run Employment Exchange, violating established rules and procedures.
The Congress leader claimed that the beneficiaries of these appointments were predominantly relatives and close associates of leaders from the ruling CPI-M and its affiliated organisations. This information reportedly surfaced following a review conducted by the National Employment Service.
Chennithala stated, “On average, 33,000 vacancies arise annually in government and semi-government organisations, all of which are supposed to be filled through the Employment Exchanges (EE) of the Kerala Government. However, data reveals that only one-third of these vacancies are filled based on the seniority list of the EE. The remaining positions are allocated by CPI-M and its feeder organisations.”
The issue came to light after Congress raised detailed questions in the state Assembly regarding temporary appointments made in various government and semi-government organisations. Chennithala alleged that the government provided evasive answers to avoid exposing their misdeeds.
He elaborated, “Officials could have provided precise answers at the click of a button using the state-supported software SPARK, which manages the salaries of all permanent and temporary employees. However, to hide their wrongdoing, they tried to give vague responses.”
Chennithala also warned that the government's failure to provide accurate data risks incurring the wrath of the state's unemployed youth. “Over 2.6 million individuals are registered with the Employment Exchange, waiting for jobs. The government's refusal to answer questions in the assembly is a blatant violation of the law and an insult to the legislature,” he added.
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