BJP, CPI(M) hit out at poll officer’s appointment as Kerala CM’s secretary

The BJP and CPI(M) on Saturday criticised the Kerala Government over the appointment of State CEO Rathan U Kelkar as secretary to Chief Minister VD Satheesan, alleging a contradiction in the Congress party’s stand on similar appointments made in BJP-ruled States.

Kelkar, a 2003-batch IAS officer, had supervised the recent Kerala Assembly election process as the State’s CEO.

According to a Government order, “Rathan U Kelkar IAS (KL 2003), Chief Electoral Officer, Kerala and Secretary, Election Department, is transferred and posted as Secretary to the Chief Minister.”

Reacting to the development, senior BJP leader K Surendran accused the Congress of double standards in matters concerning appointments involving election officials.

“In West Bengal, when the BJP did the same, it was described as a reward for vote theft. But in Kerala, when VD Satheesan does this, it becomes the beauty of democracy. Rahul Gandhi and company are the biggest hypocrites,” Surendran said in a social media post.

Senior CPI(M) leader and former minister P Rajeev also criticised the appointment and sought clarification from the Congress leadership at the national level.

He said the Congress leadership should explain its stand on appointing the Chief Electoral Officer as the Chief Minister’s secretary in Kerala, while Gandhi had strongly opposed a similar appointment in West Bengal.

Rajeev said the appointment in Kerala was made even as Gandhi had raised allegations regarding the appointment of a former election official in West Bengal and termed the issue a “very serious matter”.

He further alleged that Kelkar’s appointment was made without even observing a “cooling period”, which, according to him, was generally expected in such cases.

“The same party led by Gandhi has now appointed an officer who handled election responsibilities as the chief minister’s secretary,” Rajeev told reporters.

He said the Congress national leadership and Gandhi should clarify their stand, especially at a time when questions were being raised in society over the credibility of the election process and the Election Commission.

The criticism by the BJP and the CPI(M) comes in the backdrop of Gandhi attacking the BJP Government in West Bengal earlier over the appointment of former State Chief Electoral Officer Manoj Kumar Agarwal as chief secretary after the change in Government there.

Gandhi had then alleged collusion between the BJP and the Election Commission and remarked that “the bigger the theft, the bigger the reward”.

Responding to the criticism, Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala defended the appointment and said the Government was fully empowered to appoint capable officers to key administrative posts.

“The appointment of Rathan Kelkar as the chief minister’s secretary is the prerogative of the Government. He is a competent officer, and the Government has the authority to recall and appoint him. There is nothing unusual in it,” Chennithala told reporters.