Kerala govt stops ‘backdoor’ appointments

The Pinarayi Vijayan government was forced to stop the regularisation of contract employees ahead of completion of its tenure in the face of mounting opposition to the move and its political implications in an election year.

A cabinet meeting on Wednesday decided to stop the controversial move, although the appointments made so far would stay. The cabinet reviewed the developing situation and observed that although the entire process was transparent, the opposition parties were creating confusion and misunderstanding about the appointments.

The protesting PSC rankholders and the political parties backing them, however, rejected the government gesture, demanding that all backdoor appointments made so far be also cancelled. Two Youth Congress MLAs staging a fast in support of the job aspirants described the government decision as an eye wash and a bid to hoodwink the public.

Opposition leaders claimed that the government was forced to come down on its knees following the intense heat due to the agitation, which has shown signs of snowballing into a major political issue. Chief minister

Pinarayi Vijayan told newspersons in the evening that the cabinet decided to create 3051 new posts in various government departments and semi-government institutions. With this, the total number of new posts created by the LDF government has gone up to 30,000, Vijayan said.

The chief minister justified the regularisation of contract employees, saying it was based on clear criteria and based on humanitarian considerations. He insisted that the appointments were in positions which were outside the purview of PSC and as such the rank-holders have no legitimate claim to these jobs.