THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Barely 24 hours after what has been termed vindictive action by certain vested interests, unrest brews in the top echelons of Kerala’s babudom. In the wake of the Vigilance checks at Additional Chief Secretary (Finance) K M Abraham’s flat on Wednesday, senior bureaucrats have come out against Vigilance Director Jacob Thomas alleging deliberate attempts with vested interests.
Sources said K M Abraham approached Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan alleging that the move constituted a violation of procedures and was aimed at tarnishing his reputation. A bunch of IAS officials also called on Chief Secretary S M Vijayanand on Thursday and voiced their concerns over such attempts. The officials are of the view that such Vigilance actions are affecting their morale.
It was on Wednesday that a Vigilance team checked K M Abraham’s flat in Jagathy. They pointed out that there was no need to raid the senior official’s residence. However, the vigilance clarified that it was not a raid and only the measurement of the building was taken. If it was indeed a raid, there would’ve been a warrant and accompanying police team, they pointed out.
“The entire cadre is saddened at the developments. Now many officials are averse to taking risk, soon they’ll start working according to the book. Ultimately some individuals want to show off while corruption hasn’t come down. It has been causing incalculable harm to the system, not to IAS or IPS officials alone,” said a top official, adding, with the new development there’s a sense of deep fear among the officials irrespective of their position and seniority.
The officials feel that the Vigilance checks at K M Abraham’s residence were meant as a warning. “He’s an official who had shown the courage to take on big firms. Conducting such a raid at his house appears quite weird. The senior officials are getting the feeling that a great opportunity to carry out things in a practical way, which was there for the last three-four months, is getting affected due to a single person’s vested interests,” said a senior official on condition of anonymity.