Nepotism row: Row over appointment baseless, says Minister K T Jaleel’s office

Of the four applicants who did not attend the interview, three candidates - Sahir Kalady, V P Anas and V Babu - lacked the required qualifications, it said.

Police removing Muslim Youth League workers who waved black flag at Minister K T Jaleel at Law Academy Law College, Peroorkada, T’Puram on Thursday | Vincent Pulickal

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The office of K T Jaleel, the Minister for Higher Education and Minorities, on Thursday termed the controversies surrounding the appointment of the general manager (GM) of the Kerala State Minorities Development Finance Corporation Ltd (KSMDFC) as baseless.

In a statement, the minister’s office said the notification for the posts of GM, company secretary, deputy manager, section officer and senior assistant was issued in August 25, 2016. Of this, the appointment of the general manager was to be done on deputation basis for those in regular service having the required qualifications, it said.

“The qualifications sought for the GM post were an MBA degree in marketing/finance or PGDBA, CS, CA, ICWA with compulsory three-year regular service experience. Of the seven candidates who applied, six lacked the mentioned qualifications,” it said.

“Only three applicants, Sajid Mohammed, P Mohanan and Rijas Harith V H, appeared in the interview held at the Kozhikode Corporation headquarters on October 26, 2016,” said the statement. “Sajid Mohammed had an MBA degree but was not in regular service and was rejected. P Mohanan had an MBA degree from Periyar University but lacked a permanent job required for deputation and was rejected too. The third candidate, Rijas Harith, possessed an MBA degree from Calicut University but was working in KSMDFC on contract as the deputy manager and hence, did not qualify for the GM post,” it said.

Of the four applicants who did not attend the interview, three candidates - Sahir Kalady, V P Anas and V Babu - lacked the required qualifications, it said. It said the final applicant who did not appear for the interview was Adeeb K T who possessed a BTech and an MBA and was working in South Indian Bank as regular staff with the necessary work experience.

“Since he did not appear for the interview and the other applicants lacked necessary qualifications, the appointment was not conducted then. After two years, he was appointed as GM for one year,” the statement said.

“Contrary to allegations that P Mohanan worked in SBI on regular basis and was hence qualified, he was a temporary employee with SBI Insurance. Applicant V Babu, employed in the Secretariat, was not academically qualified,” the statement said.