Thiruvananthapuram: Agricultural Department Special Secretary N Prashanth called himself a whistleblower in a Facebook post on Sunday, upping the ante in his fight against his senior A Jayathilak, the additional chief secretary (finance).

On Monday, tongue firmly fixed on his cheek, he used an ad of Kamco (Kerala Agro Machinery Corp Ltd) to call himself a farmer out to pull weeds. For sure, there was no mention of the rumble in higher echelons of bureaucracy in his post, but the post was enough to make people sit up and take notice.
Read More: Well-versed in service rules: Prasanth claims Jayathilak ruined careers, lives of many in fresh allegations

In his post, he called himself a farmer. "I am out to pull the weed. Kamco is strongly entering not only the Reaper and Tiller market in India but also the E-buggy, EV, Tractor, Solar Autos, Hydroponics, Harvester, Power Weeder, Fertiliser, Seed-planting materials segments. It has an Excellent dealer network in all states, finance options...," he posted as the ad.

"Kamko's Weeder destroys the weeds that damage the yield and productivity of fertile farmland. No need to fear weeds anymore, the ultimate weeder has arrived!" he added as if to drive his point home.

The latest salvo comes a day after Chief Secretary Sarada Muraleedharan submitted her observations regarding the events that have transpired thus far, including the public protests and the information shared by Prasanth on Facebook.

Public fallout
Prasanth has levelled allegations against Jayathilak, accusing him of ruining the careers and lives of subordinates who failed to follow his directives. In a Facebook post, Prashanth stated that while his duty as a civil servant required him to avoid criticising government policies, he was not obliged to refrain from speaking out against individuals like Jayathilak.

His public comments follow news reports that Jayathilak filed a report against him to the Chief Minister over the missing files related to Unnathi, a state mission promoting SC/ST ventures. In a previous post, Prasanth had referred to Jayathilak as a "psychopath."