E. P. Jayarajan landed in trouble by appointing several of his family members in key positions in State PSUs, but there is another minister in the LDF cabinet whose personal staff carried out recruitment to a top post without the knowledge of his superior! It was health minister K. K. Shailaja’s private secretary who performed such an ‘act of bravery’.
It is alleged that the private secretary wrote to the secretary of the Department of Social Justice recommending the appointment of a tainted official as the coordinator of the Kerala Social Security Mission (KSSM).
The official was an accused in the multi-crore stamp paper scam. The secretary refused to consider his candidature citing legalities, but to no avail.
In the meantime, another official arraigned in the same case was appointed as the executive director of the KSSM, sparking a controversy. The minister had no other option than removing him from the post after V. S. Achuthanandan intervened in the issue.
But before stepping down, he appointed his partner in crime as the coordinator with retrospective effect, paying scant regard to the advice of the secretary of the Department of Social Justice.