UDF alleges infighting among Kerala Govt officers under Left rule

Kochi, Nov 9 (PTI) The Congress-led UDF on Saturday alleged that government officers in Kerala are embroiled in infighting under the Left regime.
    Congress leader V D Satheesan criticised the LDF government, referring to a Facebook post by N Prasanth against senior IAS officer A Jayathilak, which sparked controversy in the state.
    "The ongoing feud between IAS officers Jayathilak and Prasanth has now come to light," Satheesan alleged during a press conference here.
    The Leader of Opposition questioned whether Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan genuinely holds control over Kerala’s governance and administration.
    "Does he have any real authority over the administration?" Satheesan asked.
    However, neither officer has responded to the remarks made by Satheesan.
    Fuelling tensions within the bureaucracy, Prasanth, Special Secretary, Department of Agriculture Development and Farmers’ Welfare, took to Facebook to accuse Jayathilak, the Additional Chief Secretary, of "orchestrating baseless" news reports against him.
    In his post, Prasanth alleged that Jayathilak had become a "special reporter' and was working to undermine him by spreading unfounded allegations through the media.
    Attacking Jayathilak, the post read, "I feel compelled to share some important facts about Jayathilak, a senior IAS officer, that the public deserves to know."
    "Although I generally avoid discussing government matters in public, there seems to be no alternative at this point. My intention is to reveal only those issues that the public has the right to know, in accordance with the Right to Information."
    The issue began following a media report that alleged lapses on Prasanth's part, claiming that several crucial files from 'Unnathi'--an initiative dedicated to the welfare of Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs)--had mysteriously gone missing during his tenure as its CEO.
    The report also claimed that Jayathilak had submitted a report on this matter to Chief Minister Vijayan.
    Jayathilak was, however, unavailable for comment, as repeated attempts to contact him went unanswered.
    In his Facebook post, Prasanth also wrote, "I will post today and in the coming days when I have time. Those who know the details can comment below and make my job easier. He is a great person who has declared himself to be the next Chief Secretary, so he should listen with due respect…"
    Prasanth, who previously served as Kozhikode District Collector and in other top posts, is popularly known as 'Collector Bro' and had earlier posted on Facebook to refute the allegations against him.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)