Kerala CM Satheesan defends Kelkar''s appointment as his sec

Kerala Chief Minister V D Satheesan on Monday defended the appointment of senior IAS officer Rathan U Kelkar, who was serving as CEO during the Kerala elections, as his secretary, stating that no political party in Kerala had raised any allegations against him before the polls.

Speaking to reporters after the Cabinet meeting, Satheesan rejected the allegations levelled by the BJP and the CPI(M) over Kelkar's appointment, calling him an efficient officer who has a proven track record across various departments.

Responding to a query, the chief minister said the appointment of a chief electoral officer follows a standard constitutional process in which the state government submits a panel of officers and the chief election commissioner makes the final selection.

Satheesan questioned the basis of the controversy surrounding Kelkar's transfer and appointment, noting that several officers held important government positions after serving as chief electoral officer.

He cited former chief electoral officer Nalini Netto as an example, pointing out that she later served in the Home department, became chief secretary, and also worked in the chief minister's office. Satheesan said Kelkar is an ''efficient officer'' and that is why he was picked for the post of his secretary.

The chief minister said that Kelkar has a strong track record across various departments.

''He worked under the then chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan, as secretary for departments like IT, Environment, Planning and Economic Affairs. He also served as secretary for Taxes and as GST Commissioner under the then Finance Minister. Doesn't that experience matter?'' he asked.

Satheesan's statement comes amid mounting political heat over senior IAS officer Kelkar's appointment, triggering fresh attacks from the CPI(M) and the BJP, which have accused the ruling Congress of adopting a ''double standard'' on appointments involving election officials.

The CPI(M) has accused the Congress of double standards over its stance on similar administrative appointments in BJP-ruled states and Kerala, and alleged that Kelkar faced criticism in the state over issues related to the recent Assembly elections, including denial of voting rights to some voters.

The BJP has also attacked the UDF government, calling Kelkar's appointment as Satheesan's secretary ''opportunistic politics'' and asking Rahul Gandhi to clarify whether it was linked to poll-related favouritism, warning that he should apologise to voters in West Bengal if his earlier allegations proved inconsistent.

Referring to West Bengal, Satheesan said on Monday that parties including the Trinamool Congress, Congress and CPI(M) had made serious allegations there over alleged voter deletions through the SIR process, but no such complaints existed in Kerala against Kelkar.

Satheesan said that even then, he felt that none of them was really asking the actual question.

''Ask your doubts openly. What exactly is the mistake we committed in this issue? Who raised a complaint? Was there any complaint against the Chief Electoral Officer? Was there any complaint here regarding the SIR?''.

He asked whether the BJP had ever raised any complaint against the CEO or his procedures earlier.

Satheesan also asked: ''He was appointed as the CEO based on the proposal of the then (LDF) government, and the Election Commission appointed him. Has the CPI(M) ever complained about him? Weren't we in the opposition then? Weren't we the ones who sent the maximum number of letters and complaints?''.

''What else is there to say? These kinds of allegations are the biggest joke I have heard since we won recently. It's a huge joke, honestly,'' he said.

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