THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: In what could be termed a setback to the state government in the nepotism row, documents that have come out in the open point to the possibility of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan having been aware of the appointment of K T Adeeb -- a relative of K T Jaleel, minister for higher education and minority affairs and welfare -- in the Kerala State Minorities Development Finance Corporation.
The Chief Minister had reportedly signed a document -- on August 9,2016 -- recommending a change in the qualification criteria for appointment to the post of general manager in the corporation. While many qualified persons had attended the interview after the government invited applications to the post, Adeeb did not attend.
Later, Jaleel intervened and revised the qualification norms for the post in favour of Adeeb. The Chief Minister had signed the revised qualification order, said a source. Jaleel allegedly revised the qualification norms by including BTech with PGDBA as a criterion so that Adeeb could be eligible for the post.
Adeeb is Jaleel’s second cousin. According to rules, an approval from the Administrative Reforms Commission and the legal department is required to revise the qualification norms. But these stipulations were reportedly violated.
Last week, the Lok Ayukta found Jaleel guilty of nepotism and abuse of power in the appointment of Adeeb. The Lok Ayukta also observed that Jaleel cannot continue in his post and recommended the Chief Minister to take appropriate action against the minister.
Lok Ayukta Cyriac Joseph and Upa Lok Ayukta Harun-Ul-Rasheed ruled that the minister violated the oath of office and showed favouritism by tweaking the qualifications to favour his relative. The Lok Ayukta also found Adeeb’s appointment was made without inviting applications or providing opportunity to other eligible candidates.