KOZHIKODE: Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Sunday admitted that the controversy surrounding the appointment of kith and kin of party ministers to important posts in the government was a serious issue, but dismissed claims of CPM leader P.K. Sreemathy, MP, that the appointment of her daughter-in-law as personal staff during her tenure as health minister in 2006 was with his (Mr Vijayan’s) knowledge.
“The allegations (on appointments) are serious,” the chief minister told reporters adding that the party would discuss the issue in detail and reach a collective decision. Mr Vijayan, who was the secretary of the CPM state committee in 2006, rebutted the claim of Ms Sreemathy in her Facebook post that the party was in the know of the appointment of her daughter-in-law.
“Ministers are free to appoint personal staff in three posts — a driver, a cook and one to attend the phone at home. The party has no role in these appointments,” Mr Vijayan said, adding that all other appointments should be with the knowledge of party. “Party intervened only when the daughter-in-law was promoted triggering a controversy which led to cancellation of the appointment,” he added.
Mr Sreemathy had claimed in her post that she had kept mum on the controversy earlier to protect the image of the party. When queried about the opinion of veteran CPM leader V.S. Achuthanandan that the controversies dented the image of the LDF government, Mr Vijayan said that it was a campaign by UDF in the name of VS. “The issue is serious and we would sort it out collectively,” he added.
