Thiruvananthapuram: Congress MLA Ramya Haridas has sought to appoint suspended party worker Palayam Pradeep to her personal staff with retrospective effect, days after he was suspended by the party following a scuffle at the residence of a local Congress leader in Chirayinkeezhu.

A letter from Ramya seeking to appoint Pradeep and another person to her staff with effect from May reached the Assembly Secretary’s office on September 7. The letter is dated September 4, the same day Ramya and Pradeep visited the residence of S Sajad in Pulimoodu, where a scuffle broke out later that night. The KPCC suspended Pradeep and Sajad from the party’s primary membership on September 6 following the incident.

The timing of the letter has led to allegations that it was backdated to make it appear that the request for Pradeep’s appointment predated the incident.

“We will look at the date of the letter. If it is retrospective as argued, it is not ideal,” KPCC president and Electricity Minister Sunny Joseph said on Tuesday.

Assembly officials said a letter should carry the date on which it was actually submitted. They also said it could not be formally accepted in the absence of the Assembly Secretary. Speaker Thiravanchoor Radhakrishnan has expressed displeasure over his office being drawn into the controversy.

An MLA can appoint three members to their personal staff, including a personal assistant. Ramya has so far appointed only a PA, leaving two positions vacant. Each of the vacant posts carries a monthly salary of ₹20,000.

The dispute
The incident followed a dispute over Pradeep’s presence at a Chirayinkeezhu Block Panchayat committee meeting earlier on Friday. Local Congress workers had objected to his participation, alleging that he had issued directions to certain contractors.

Ramya had shared visuals of Pradeep attending the meeting in a Congress WhatsApp group, prompting Sajad to question his presence in a response message.

Ramya maintained that Sajad had invited her to his house and that she went there with her associates. She has also repeatedly said that Pradeep has been part of her staff since her tenure as an MP.

According to the KPCC, an inquiry report found that Pradeep and Sajad had committed serious organisational disciplinary violations that brought disrepute to the Congress. KPCC general secretary Neyyattinkara Sanal, who was part of the inquiry committee, said Sunny Joseph decided to suspend them based on the committee’s report.

Ramya had alleged that she was attacked by local Congress leaders, including district panchayat member Sajith Muttambalam and Sajad, the Congress Koonthallur area vice-president.

Chirayinkeezhu police subsequently registered a case against 15 local Congress workers. The accused were booked under relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.

The local Congress leadership has taken a strong stand against Pradeep, accusing him of interfering in the MLA’s functioning. They have said he will not be allowed to work in the constituency.

In Chirayinkeezhu, once a Left stronghold, Ramya won by a margin of just 1,422 votes amid the Congress wave in the last Assembly election. The CPI had won the constituency by large margins in three consecutive elections before Ramya wrested it from the Left, albeit by a narrow margin.