A letter purportedly written by Arya Rajendran, Mayor of Thiruvananthapuram city corporation, to Anavoor Nagappan, the District Secretary of Communist Party of India (Marxist) seeking a ‘priority list’ of candidates for appointment on daily wage basis in the local body has triggered a fresh controversy.
The letter in official letterhead of the Thiruvananthapuram Corporation dated November 1 and signed by Arya Rajendran, published along with a report by Malayala Manorama daily, lists a total of 295 vacancies. While Anavoor Rajappan said he hasn’t received the letter, Mayor Arya Rajendran, speaking to the daily, said she just got back from New Delhi and there was no reason why such a letter should be sent.
The designations mentioned in the letter for various vacancies under the Health Department however match with that of a job notification issued by the local body dated October 31, 2022 and available on their official website.
The letter addressing the Thiruvananthapuram district secretary as comrade also provides a split-up of the vacant positions (public health expert - 1, doctors 74, staff nurses - 66, pharmacists - 64, lab technicians - 23, multi-purpose workers - 59, optometrists - 2 and part time sweepers - 6). The notification on the website however did not carry the number of vacancies.
“I inform you that the Thiruvananthapuram Corporation has decided to appoint employees on a daily wage basis for various posts in the Health Department. The application is accepted online. The designations and list of vacancies are enclosed. It is requested that necessary steps be taken to provide a priority list of candidates,” the letter said.
The Opposition has alleged that the letter is proof of nepotism in appointments made to the local body as even the contract staff are supposed to be appointed through a fair interview process. The Youth Congress held a protest march to the corporation seeking the Mayor's resignation. The Congress has also questioned the irony of the Mayor, who participated in the Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI) protest “Where is my Job” on November 3 in Delhi against the rising rate of unemployment in the country.
Opposition leader VD Satheesan also sought her resignation. “Not just in local self government institutions, in all public and government sectors in Kerala the appointments are made based on the list given by CPI(M) district secretaries. These backdoor appointments continue even after the contract period and that is why many don’t get appointed through the Public Service Commission. PSC rank holders are running from pillar to post seeking appointments from the list of eligible candidates. The government will later permanently appoint these contract workers. Now all this corruption has come out through the letter,” VD Satheesan told the media on Saturday, November 5.
KS Sabarinadhan, former MLA and State Vice President, Youth Congress said what the mayor has done is a serious breach of the oath of office. The mayor who has vowed to work without favor is officially asking the party secretary to give a list of candidates for appointment and has no right to continue in the post, he wrote on Facebook.
VT Balram, former MLA and Vice President, Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) wrote on Facebook: “This is serious corruption. It's absolute shamelessness. It’s a breach of oath. It’s a betrayal of the people. This youngest corrupt woman should be removed from the post of mayor. The Lokayukta should register a case against them.” Arya Rajendran was celebrated as the youngest mayor in the country after the CPI(M) proposed her name in December 2020.
Calls made by TNM to Mayor Arya Rajendran and Anavoor Nagappan were not answered. The copy would be updated once we receive their responses.