As the controversy over the alleged back door appointment of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan's secretary KK Ragesh's wife Priya Varghese to the Kannur University is yet to settle down, another similar allegation against state BJP president K Surendran's son has come up. The allegation is that Surendran’s son KS Harikrishnan managed to get a posting at the Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Biotechnology (RGCB). RGCB is an autonomous Institute of the Department of Biotechnology, Government of India.
The Congress and the CPI(M) are up in arms against this and have demanded a probe into the appointment of Harikrishnan as Technical Officer at RGCB. He has a B.Tech in Mechanical Engineering. Allegations are flying thick and fast that the entire process of selecting one person out of 48 who took the test, was on fast track as the three-phased testing process took place in a flash and in June this year, Harikrishnan was appointed.
Kannur CPI(M) district secretary MV Jayarajan said that this is a grave issue on how in various central institutions, BJP activists are able to wriggle in, and a probe is thus needed. Youth Congress president and three-time legislator Shafi Parambil said, "What's happening in Kerala is when the Left sympathisers, especially wives and kin of top CPI(M) leaders are given jobs on the sly in Universities and state-run organisation, the BJP matches up by filling up their people in Central institutions."
RGCB officials said that this appointment was done a few months back and that Harikrishnan was undergoing training, and all the mandatory procedures and protocols have been followed in the appointment. Officials added that the family history of the candidate is not looked into during the appointment process.
Meanwhile, BJP leader Surendran rubbished the news and threatened to take legal action in the matter. Speaking to the media, Surendran said that no one will have any doubt over the timing of the news as it came when Prime Minister Narendra Modi was in the state, which was the only reason for circulating the baseless news.
"I have done no wrong, nor have I done anything for my son's appointment. The fact is that it was only after he got the appointment letter that people came to know that he is my son. I will take legal steps against this news, which has no substance. The media had earlier even alleged that he was involved in handling unaccounted cash," Surendran said.