THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Thiruvananthapuram Mayor S Arya Rajendran and the CPM have landed in trouble after a letter, purportedly written by the mayor to the party district secretary asking for suitable candidates from the party for contractual appointments in the city corporation, surfaced.
Finding itself in a spot, the CPM leadership intervened.In an obvious face saver, Local Self-Government
Minister M B Rajesh made it clear that appointments to the 295 vacancies in the corporation would be made through employment exchange.
It is learnt that if the letter is found to be genuine, the mayor may have to face major action.
The letter, seeking the list of candidates, is in the mayor’s official letterhead with her signature. The mayor denied sending such a letter and said a police complaint would be filed on Sunday. While deputy mayor P K Raju alleged that the letter was forged, CPM district secretary Anavoor Nagappan said he has not received any such communication from the mayor.
Meanwhile, the UDF and the BJP launched major protests demanding the mayor’s immediate resignation. The Youth Congress has also approached the Election Commission of India seeking to disqualify the mayor.
As per the letter being circulated on social media, the mayor asked for candidates to make contractual appointments to 295 vacancies of daily wage labourers in Urban Primary Health Centres. The letter, dated November 1, also lists the posts and number of vacancies. Stating that applications from candidates would be accepted online, the letter asked the CPM leader to provide a priority list of candidates. It mentioned that the last date for accepting applications is November 16.
After the issue triggered a controversy, the mayor, who is now in New Delhi, denied sending any such communication. Curiously, she has gone to Delhi to attend aprotest gathering ‘Where’s my job?’ organised by the DYFI.
Letter and signature forged, says corp
Mayor Arya Rajendran said she was not in Thiruvananthapuram on the date shown in the letter. CPM district secretary Anavoor Nagappan said he came to know about the letter only through the media. “There’s no reason for sending such a communication. I will check with the mayor and take steps accordingly,” he told reporters.
Left red-faced, the CPM leadership has started probing how the letter surfaced in the media. It suspects that the communication got leaked due to the factional feud in the party. The letter row has come at a time when the party district unit is struggling to find a replacement for district chief Anavoor. Sources in the corporation said the incident came to light after the soft copy of the letter was shared in a WhatsApp group by works standing committee chairman D R Anil. It is learnt that he had sent another letter to the CPM district secretary on October 24 regarding appointments to various posts in SAT Hospital.
In the complaint lodged with the Central Election Commission, Youth Congress national coordinator J S Akhil sought its intervention to declare Arya Rajendran as incompetent to hold the office of councillor and mayor. He termed it a violation of the oath taken by her.
Agitation at corporation office
On Saturday, Youth Congress activists, Yuva Morcha workers and BJP councillors staged protests in front of the corporation office. Though they tried to barge into the office, the police and security guards blocked them. Tension prevailed at the office after some BJP councillors engaged in a heated argument with the deputy mayor.
“The letter and the signature of the mayor are forged. It is a deliberate attempt to create a controversy. The corporation will investigate the incident and will initiate legal action against those behind it,” Raju said. In a statement, the corporation spokesperson said no such letter was issued either by the mayor or her office. “No such practices exist. It seems that the letter was delivered on the day when the mayor was out of station. More details will come out only through investigation,” the statement said.
Charges refuted
Mayor Arya Rajendran said she was not in Thiruvananthapuram on the date shown in the letter