Oppn slams Kerala govt over vigilance probes
CM backs Jacob Thomas
trivandrum — The opposition Congress on Friday slammed Kerala’s LDF government over the ongoing vigilance probes against top bureaucrats, saying that governance in the state has come to a standstill.
Amid rising disquiet over vigilance probes against Additional Chief Secretary and Finance Secretary K.M. Abraham and Additional Chief Secretary and Labour Secretary Tom Jose, Opposition leader Ramesh Chennithala said in the state assembly: “The end result is governance in the state has come to a standstill and people’s issues are not being tackled.
“What we are seeing today is two police officials holding the rank of director general of police are unhappy. Then we see Vigilance chief Jacob Thomas filing a petition that his phone and emails is being snooped into.”
Governance in the state has come to a standstill and people’s issues are not being tackled
Ramesh Chennithala
Addressing Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, he said: “The Finance Secretary K.M. Abraham has written to you (Vijayan) that he is being targeted, and it was shocking to see the way the Vigilance conducted a raid in his home yesterday.” Chennithala pointed out that never before has the state seen squabbling between top bureaucrats and police officials like now.
Ever since Vijayan was sworn in on May 25 and Thomas appointed as head of Vigilance the same day, uneasy calm appears to prevail, especially among opposition leaders who were cabinet ministers in the Chandy government, and now top bureaucrats have also started to feel the heat. If on Thursday, Abraham came under the Vigilance scanner, on Friday morning the residence of top bureaucrat Tom Jose was raided by the vigilance.
Sleuths arrived at the residence of Jose at Kochi and in the state capital and later at his office in the secretariat.
Reacting to the events, Jose told the media that all details of his properties had been filed.— trivandrum — With a tussle continuing between Vigilance Director Jacob Thomas and top IAS officials in Kerala, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Friday expressed confidence in Thomas and said “certain forces were working to oust the director from the post.”
However, Vijayan said the petition of Additional Chief Secretary (Finance) K M Abraham against Thomas for conducting a search in his house in connection with a case was of “serious nature” and it would be examined.
He made the statement in the Assembly while replying to a submission of opposition leader Ramesh Chennithala that the administration had come to a standstill in the state due to the fight between top bureaucrats. Vijayan’s remarks assumes significance as it came in the backdrop of the search conducted this morning by the Vigilance at the residence and office of another top officer Tom Jose, Principal Secretary (Labour) in a disproportionate assets case. — PTI