The ruling CPI(M) buried all inner party rivalries and came out unanimously in support of K T Jaleel, Kerala’s Higher Education Minister, whom the Lok Ayukta declared on Friday of committing impropriety.
Cyriac Joseph, Lok Ayukta and Harun-ul- Rasheed, his deputy ruled on Friday that Jaleel was guilty of nepotism and abuse of power in the appointment of K T Adeeb ( a close relation of the minister) as general manager of Kerala State Minorities development Finance Corporation Ltd.
The Lok Ayukta also ruled that Jaleel’s continuation as minister is untenable and asked the chief minister to remove him from office. “Jaleel violated the oath of office and showed favouritism by tweaking the qualifications to favour his relative.’
It was in November 2018, the Muslim Youth League, disclosed details about the “illegal” appointment of Adeeb as general manager of the public sector enterprises. Within days Adeeb quit the post but the matter was raised before the Lok Ayukta through a public interest litigation.
Though the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau informed the High Court that the allegation was political in nature , the Lok Ayukta found the charges to be true and hence the present ruling.
Jaleel, a former leader of the banned SIMI, has been in controversy since the beginning of 2020 in connection with the gold smuggling scam through UAE Consulate and his close liaison with Swapna Suresh, the kingpin of the racket. Recordings of the minister’s private phone calls with the controversial lady had made headlines and steamy reports during the last one year.
While the Congress-led opposition demanded the sacking of Jaleel from the council of ministers, the CPI(M) leadership came out in support of the beleaguered minister on Saturday. Kerala’s Minister for Culture A K Balan, told media persons that there was no need for Jaleel to resign following the observations of Lok Ayukta. “Jaleel is a good administrator and minister. The Lok Ayukta ruling is because of ignorance and there is no need for him to resign,” said A K Balan.
A Vijayaraghavan, party general secretary and Marxist intellectual, said that Jallel had proved his innocence and nobody in this world could doubt him. “He is one of the best ministers in Kerala Government and he faces the maximum opposition from Sangh Parivar,” said Vijayaraghavan.