Thiruvananthapuram: Even as the Opposition demands the resignation of Minister for Higher Education and Minority Welfare K T Jaleel over the Lokayukta's report on abuse of power and favouritism, it has come to light that the Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan himself had supported his move to facilitate the appointment of a relative in a state government entity.
Official documents reveal that Jaleel had the approval of the chief minister to alter the educational qualifications for appointing the minister’s close relative, K T Adeeb, as the General Manager of the Kerala State Minority Development Corporation.
The CM had also ignored the objection raised by the Secretary, Minority Welfare Department, and approved the tweaking the norms on educational qualification for the post.
Jaleel had on July 28, 2016, written to the Secretary, Public Administration (Minority Welfare), demanding an alteration in the educational qualifications required for the post of General Manager. The Secretary objected, noting that the change could only be made with the consent of the State cabinet.
The official suggested referring the matter to the Cabinet since it had fixed the educational qualification based on the recommendations of the Finance department.
Jaleel responded, saying the Cabinet’s nod was not necessary since only an addition would be made, and it could be effected with the approval of the chief minister. The chief minister approved Jaleel’s suggestion on August 9, 2016.
It has now become clear that the norms on educational qualification were tweaked without the approval of the Cabinet or the Finance department. Jaleel had instructed to add Bachelor of Technology (B Tech) and Post-Graduate Diploma in Business Analytics (PGDBA) as the required qualification for the post. Adeeb is a BTech and holds a PGDBA.
Earlier, officials had objected to the deputation of Adeeb, employed with a private bank, to the Minority Development Corporation. The objection, however, was overruled.
The chief minister had also justified in the State Assembly Adeeb’s appointment.
The documents were made public close on the heels of the Lok Ayukta finding Jaleel guilty of nepotism and observing that he had no right to continue as a minister.
Jaleel had abused his position as a public servant to obtain a favour for his relative, and should not continue as a minister, the report submitted to the CM last week stated.
Meanwhile, the CPM has been backing Jaleel. CPM politburo member Kodiyeri Balakrishnan on Sunday said the minister could approach the High Court with a writ petition against the Lok Ayukta ruling.
