Oppn steps up attack as Kelkar assumes charge as Kerala CM's secretary

Amid mounting political heat over his appointment, senior IAS officer Rathan U Kelkar on Sunday assumed charge as secretary to Kerala Chief Minister V D Satheesan, triggering fresh attacks from the CPI(M), CPI and the BJP.

While the BJP termed the development as part of ''opportunistic politics'' of the Congress party and demanded an immediate response from Rahul Gandhi over this, the CPI (M) said everything would come out in the coming days.

In the morning, the Chief Minister's Office (CMO) released photographs of Kelkar taking charge, a day after the government transferred and posted the former Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) as the CM's secretary.

There were also media reports that CM Satheesan has directed the officer to assume office immediately, despite it being a Sunday.

Amid the continuing controversy, AICC general secretary K C Venugopal avoided directly responding to questions over the appointment of the official to a key post in the CMO. He said the matter was administrative in nature, and it was for the government to take such decisions.

''I have no opinion on such matters. Let those in governance decide,'' Venugopal told reporters in Thrissur.

Reacting sharply, CPI(M) state secretary M V Govindan alleged that the Congress was taking a contradictory stand compared to its earlier criticism of similar appointments in BJP-ruled states.

''When such an officer was appointed to a prominent post in West Bengal, Rahul Gandhi had strongly criticised it. But when a similar move happens in Kerala, K C Venugopal says it is the responsibility of those in power. This is a clear double standard,'' Govindan alleged.

He further claimed that Kelkar had faced widespread criticism in Kerala over various issues related to the conduct of the recent Assembly elections, including alleged denial of voting opportunity to thousands of voters.

When reporters asked whether the appointment was part of any ''deal'', Govindan said, ''Everything will come out in the coming days''.

Senior BJP leader and MLA V Muraleedharan on Sunday intensified his attack against the UDF government over the appointment of Kelkar as secretary to Satheesan, alleging that it reflected the Congress party's ''opportunistic politics''.

Addressing a press conference here, Muraleedharan sought an immediate response from Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, recalling his earlier criticism of a similar appointment made by the BJP government in West Bengal.

''Rahul Gandhi had alleged that the appointment in Bengal was a reward for sabotaging the Assembly election. So, I would like to ask him whether Kelkar's appointment in Kerala was for helping the Congress in carrying out malpractices during the Assembly polls,'' Muraleedharan asked.

''If not, Gandhi should be prepared to apologise to the people of Bengal,'' he said.

The BJP leader also took a swipe at Satheesan's earlier claim that the UDF would win 100 seats in the Assembly elections, asking whether the confidence was based on ''assurances from those who conducted the election process'', in an apparent reference to Kelkar.

''Kelkar's appointment is suspicious. If the BJP wins, the Congress raises allegations of vote theft and EVM tampering. But if the Congress wins, they say the officer who conducted the elections was efficient,'' Muraleedharan alleged.

People will realise the Congress party's hypocrisy, he added.

Meanwhile, CPI state secretary Binoy Viswam also criticised Kelkar's appointment in the Chief Minister's Office (CMO).

In a statement, Viswam said appointing an officer who had stood with the ''controversial policies'' of the Election Commission of India (ECI), as the chief minister's secretary, would raise questions among the public.

He alleged that the BJP governments had appointed as advisers officials who implemented central policies that denied voting rights based on caste and religion, and asked whether the Kerala government was now moving along the same path.

Appointing an officer like Kelkar to such an important post would create doubts among the people regarding the future policies and stand of the government, Viswam added.

The Congress has already rejected the allegations, asserting that there was ''no politics'' behind the appointment and that the government was fully empowered to appoint capable officers to key administrative posts.

Kelkar, a 2003-batch IAS officer, had supervised the recent Kerala Assembly election process as the state's Chief Electoral Officer. Congress-led UDF had swept the polls, winning 102 of the 140 seats.

A government order had earlier stated, ''Rathan U Kelkar IAS (KL 2003), Chief Electoral Officer, Kerala and Secretary, Election Department, is transferred and posted as Secretary to the Chief Minister.''

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)