Chandy defends Jacob Thomas’s transfer, says it was a collective decision

Thiruvananthapuram: Chief Minister Oommen Chandy on Friday defended the move to transfer Jacob Thomas to Kerala Police Housing and Construction Corporation from the Kerala Fire and Rescue Forces, saying it was based on a collective decision of the cabinet.

His reaction came a day after Thomas, who holds the rank of director general of police, expressed unhappiness over frequent transfers.

"This official who was transferred yesterday (Thursday) had on a few occasions put the government into trouble through his actions. Look, our commitment is to the people and to address their felt needs and there were numerous complaints against this official," Chandy said in a press meet.

"We are not interested in such changes that he (Thomas) has introduced."

"The decision to remove him was taken by the cabinet. Even though such transfers need not come before the cabinet. I take full responsibility for his transfer and none need to blame other ministers," Chandy said.

Thomas, expressing unhappiness, said he would have to think on what needs to be done next because first he was moved out of the vigilance when he started to introduce reforms, and then it happened again as he was moved out of the fire force.

Leader of Opposition V.S. Achuthanandan on Thursday said Thomas' transfer indicated that the state government was dancing to the tunes of builders as he was acting very strict in implementing the safety regulations.

Achuthanandan claimed the builders had greased the palms of Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala and Urban Minister Manjalamkuzhi Ali.

On the allegation, Chandy said: "I would like to point out that we are following exactly the same rules which he followed during the tenure of Achuthanandan (2006-11), when it came to sanctions that were given to high rise buildings."