A day after Kerala Industries Minister EP Jayarajan’s nephew Sudheer Nambiar was appointment as the Managing Director of Kerala State Industrial Enterprises (KSIE), Sudheer has been removed from the post.
According to a statement released by the ministry, the order appointing Sudheer was cancelled on Monday (03-10-2016) after he wrote to the minister’s private secretary asking for extension to take up the post. Sudheer is the son of PK Sreemathy, a CPI(M) leader.
The decision that M Beena would continue as the MD was also taken on the same day, says the release.
The appointment had on Thursday raked up controversy, with the BJP accusing the minister of nepotism.
Calling for immediate cancellation of the order, former state BJP president V Muraleedharan had accused the minister of abusing his power.
According to reports, the decision to remove Sudheer from the post came in the wake of the Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan denying any knowledge of the appointment.
“Generally, people who are qualified are appointed to the post. The matter will be looked into,” Pinarayi Vijayan told reporters in Kozhikode.
Notably, the decision came only a few hours after Jayarajan maintained that his relatives may have been appointed in many posts.
Responding on the issue at a press conference held in Palakkad, Jayarajan is reported to have said,
“My relatives may have been appointed in many positions in various public sector enterprises. Nobody has raised an objection till now.”
Adding that he wishes not to respond further on the matter, he said that such questions by media persons does not deserve a reply.
The appointment was cause for dissatisfaction even within the party, considering the CPI (M)-led LDF government had earlier said that appointments to public sector undertakings will be transparent and purely based on merit.
In what appears to be an attempt at justifying the appointment, the release by the ministry states that Sudheer is a Degree holder and the Executive Director of a prominent enterprise.