THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Adding a fresh twist to the appointments made by the V D Satheesan government, KPCC general secretary P M Niyas has demanded that the chief minister halt the appointment of the State Election Commissioner. The last cabinet meeting had decided to recommend to the governor the appointment of N Seshadrinathan as the State Election Commissioner.
In a letter addressed to Chief Minister V D Satheesan, AICC general secretary in charge of the state Deepa Dasmunsi and KPCC president Sunny Joseph, Niyas said he could not remain silent when people who had allegedly opposed and physically confronted Congress workers, and later tried to sideline the Congress by becoming supporters of the Sangh Parivar, were being elevated to important posts while the UDF government is in power.
He also urged the leadership to take urgent steps to ensure that future appointments are made from among those with links to the party. “There should also be a party-level mechanism to scrutinise such appointments and offer its opinion,” the letter said.
Seshadrinathan has served as principal district and sessions judge in Kavaratti, as a CBI Court judge in Ernakulam, and in several other judicial positions. After retiring, he is currently serving as a judge in the Irinjalakkuda Family Court.
Meanwhile, Seshadrinathan told TNIE that, as he continues to be associated with the judiciary, the High Court had not permitted him to hold a press conference.
“I joined the judicial service in 2000 and have 26 years of experience. I served as the state president of the Kerala Judicial Officers Association for two-and-a-half years. I am currently the national vice-president of the All India Judges Association,” he said.
Seshadrinathan told TNIE that it was for the government to decide whether to proceed with his appointment.
However, Niyas alleged that Seshadrinathan had been an active SFI worker when he was the KSU Kozhikode district president and had acted against the KSU while studying at Kozhikode Law College. “The State Election Commissioner is an important constitutional office as the office holder is one of the permanent members of the delimitation committee,” Niyas told TNIE.
“When our party is in power, we should appoint someone who subscribes to our party’s policies. Though he was an SFI activist in his younger days, it is now alleged that he has close links with the Sangh Parivar. If he becomes the next State Election Commissioner, the UDF government will be paving the way for a delimitation process favourable to the BJP,” he alleged.
Though Seshadrinathan is based in Ernakulam, when TNIE contacted senior Congress leaders K Babu and Ajay Tharayil from the district, both said they neither knew him nor had heard of him before.
However, advocates associated with the Sangh Parivar described Seshadrinathan as a person who upholds Hindu values.
