Kollam: More evidence has emerged to prove that Nisha Balakrishnan, a Kerala Public Service Commission rank-holder, was denied job deliberately by reporting vacancies at midnight. However, the PSC Chairman and other officials concerned are keeping mum on the issue apparently owing to legal and other constraints.
Even State Minister for Self-Government M B Rajesh could not offer any clarification in the Legislative Assembly.
Nisha failed to secure a government job after an official at the Urban Affairs Directorate in Thiruvananthapuram reported a vacancy to the Kerala PSC exactly at midnight on the day the validity of her rank-list expired. The PSC had refused to send Nisha an appointment order saying that the email from Urban Affairs Directorate was received four seconds after midnight.
Malayala Manorama had explained how officials of the Department of Urban Affairs scuttled the appointment of the Chavara native. A day earlier Rajesh wrote on Facebook that the expose by Manorama was false and that there was no failure on the part of the officials.
Legislator P C Vishnunadh raised the matter in the Assembly by bringing an adjournment motion. Vishnunadh, who referred to the editorial in Manorama on the subject of backdoor appointments, asked the government to respond to Nisha’s question, “what have you achieved by destroying my dream”.
The Minister who replied to all the other allegations of Vishnunadh did not address Nisha’s case.
The Minister had agreed that the emails reporting vacancies were sent to the PSC offices in Ernakulam and Kannur right at 12 midnight. However, defending them, the Minister claimed that the officials had reported the vacancies after reaching the office on holidays and working till midnight!
As reported earlier the job vacancy in Kochi Corporation was intimated to the office of the Director of Urban Affairs Department on March 28, 2018. If they so desired, the officials could report the vacancy to the PSC on the same day. March 29 and 30 were declared holidays earlier. Still, the mails were delayed till the midnight of March 31.
The two mails sent to the Kannur and Ernakulam PSC offices had different attachments (letters reporting vacancies) and different subject lines (mentioning the content of the mail). Technical experts say that it is unbelievable that the two mails were sent on the dot at 12 midnight after adding two different attachments and subject lines. Either the mails would have been prepared earlier and saved in the draft folder and sent at 12 midnight or the mails would have been set earlier for being sent automatically at 12 midnight by using the scheduled mail facility. Whatever the procedure followed, delaying the mails till midnight was a lapse on the part of the officials.
Meanwhile, activists of the Revolutionary Youth Front (RYF) picketed the office of the Director (Urban) of the Local Self-Government Department. The protesters demanded the suspension of the official.