It asks him for a priority list of applicants for temporary posts in the health wing of the Corporation
It asks him for a priority list of applicants for temporary posts in the health wing of the Corporation
A letter allegedly written by Thiruvananthapuram Mayor Arya Rajendran to Communist Party of India (Marxist) district secretary Anavoor Nagappan asking him for a “priority list” of applicants for temporary posts in the health wing of the Corporation has kicked up a storm.
Youth organisations of the Opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Congress took out protest marches to the Corporation office demanding the Mayor’s resignation for allegedly filling temporary posts with party appointees.
Tension prevailed at the Corporation office following a march taken out by BJP councillors and Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha activists. Deputy Mayor P.K. Raju alleged that the BJP councillors manhandled him during the protest. The BJP councillors who staged a sit-in in front of the Mayor’s office were later arrested and removed by the police.
An official release from the Mayor’s office said such a letter was never sent by the Mayor or her office. The Mayor was out of station on the day on which the letter was supposed to have been sent. An official inquiry was being held to ascertain the origin of the letter. The Corporation would take legal action against those who resorted to fake allegations to defame the Mayor and the ruling council.
Mr. Nagappan said he had not received such a letter. Minister for Local Self-Governments M.B. Rajesh said in a release that the 295 temporary vacancies would be filled through the employment exchange.
The letter, the authenticity of which is yet to be ascertained, was reportedly leaked after it was shared at a ward-level WhatsApp group.
The Mayor says in the letter, dated November 1, that the online application process for a total of 295 daily wage posts in the health wing has now been opened. The attached list of temporary posts shows openings for doctors, nurses, pharmacists, lab technicians, optometrists, and sweepers.
She further requests the party district secretary to take the necessary steps to make available a “priority list” of candidates and notes that applications have to be submitted before 5 p.m. on November 16 through the website tmc.lsgkerala.gov.in.
Anavoor Nagappan
Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president K. Sudhakaran said he was not surprised by such an illegal letter from a Left-ruled Corporation.
BJP State president K. Surendran, in a statement, demanded that the Corporation administration led by Ms. Rajendran be dismissed in the light of the alleged letter. He questioned whether the CPI(M) district secretary took the decisions on filling vacant posts in the Corporation. The Mayor through the act reeking of nepotism committed violation of oath. The Corporation was also following the Left Democratic Front government’s policy of providing government jobs only to CPI(M) workers, he alleged.
