Kerala’s Marxist Minister for Industries and CPI(M) central committee member EP Jayarajan, accused of indulging in nepotism by appointing several of his close relatives in positions under his department, has got further isolated in the party, the ruling lDF it leads and the Government with more Ministers and leaders emphasising the inevitability of action against him.
According to sources, CPI(M)’s Kerala secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan has asked Jayarajan to hand over to him the list and details of all the appointments made in his department since he took charge even as the State Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (VACB) is reportedly preparing to start a quick verification of the allegations against him.
As pressure mounted on the party for organizational action against him and on Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan to demand his resignation from the Cabinet, Deepthi Nishad, daughter-in-law of Jayarajan’s brother, resigned on Wednesday as general manager of the Kerala Clay and Ceramic Products ltd which came under the Industries Department.
The resignation of Deepthi, who had got the job recently, came just a few days after the Chief Minister froze the appointment of Sudheer Nambiar, son of former Health minister PK Sreemathy, another CC member who is Jayarajan’s sister-in-law, as managing director of the Kerala State Industrial Enterprises ltd, a PSU under the Minister’s department.
Kodiyeri asked Jayarajan for the details of the political appointments made in his department at a one-hour meeting between them at the AKG Centre, the party’s Kerala headquarters in Thiruvananthapuram, held ahead of the crucial state secretariat meeting scheduled for Friday which is expected to consider the organisational action to be taken against the Minister.
Though charges of nepotism have been leveled against five members of the State Secretariat, the party leadership is of the opinion that it is Jayarajan who is facing the worst allegations. “Also, it is not possible for the party at this juncture to go for disciplinary action against all of them,” said a former Secretariat member.
However, what is worrying the party leadership and the Chief Minister is the determination of the Opposition Congress and BJP not to allow the issue to be settled with mere organisational action against the Minister. The Congress party will take out a march towards the State Assembly on Monday demanding resignation of Jayarajan or his expulsion from the Cabinet.
Though Pinarayi is eager to settle the issue before the resumption of Assembly session on Monday, a major section in the CPI(M) Politburo is of the firm opinion that Jayarajan need not be sacked from the Cabinet. Also, the controversy has already become a weapon in the hands of the West Bengal lobby in the Politburo, which is opposed to the Kerala Chief Minister.
Vigilance Director Jacob Thomas has reportedly received the legal advice that a preliminary probe against Jayarajan cannot be avoided. A decision in this regard is likely to be taken on Thursday itself. Opposition leader Ramesh Chennithala and BJP leaders V Muraleedharan and K Surendran had written letters to the Vigilance Director demanding a probe against Jayarajan.
Meanwhile, MC Josephine, another CPI(M) CC member, submitted a complaint to State party chief Kodiyeri saying that nepotistic appointments had been made in Government lawyers’ positions and that this had brought disrepute to the party. She said in her complaint that these appointments were made by ignoring able lawyers within the party.
Observers pointed out that Josephine was targeting none other than Chief Minister Pinarayi himself. Allegation of nepotism has also been leveled against Pinarayi as T Naveen, his close relative, had got appointment as the Government counsel in the High Court for the Kerala State Pollution Control Board. Naveen, however, had claimed that he was qualified for the post.