Oppn in Kerala questions poll official's appointment as CM’s secretary
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Thiruvananthapuram: The appointment of former Kerala Chief Electoral Officer Rathan U Kelkar as Secretary to Chief Minister V D Satheesan has sparked a political row, with opposition parties accusing the Congress of adopting a double standard on the appointment of election officials to key government posts.
Kelkar, a 2003-batch IAS officer of the Kerala cadre, assumed charge on Sunday after being transferred from the Election Department a day earlier. As Chief Electoral Officer, he supervised the special intensive revision of electoral rolls and oversaw the recently concluded Kerala Assembly elections.
According to PTI, CPI(M) and BJP leaders drew comparisons between Kelkar’s appointment and the recent elevation of former West Bengal Chief Electoral Officer Manoj Agarwal as Chief Secretary after the Assembly elections in that state. The opposition highlighted that Congress leader Rahul Gandhi had strongly criticised the West Bengal government’s decision, alleging that officials whose conduct during elections was questioned should not be rewarded with top administrative positions.
CPI(M) state secretary M V Govindan said the Congress was applying different standards in Kerala and West Bengal, while BJP leader K Surendran questioned whether the principles invoked by Rahul Gandhi against Agarwal’s appointment were being ignored in Kerala.
“But when a similar move happens in Kerala, [Congress leader] KC Venugopal says it is the responsibility of those in power,” Govindan was quoted as saying by PTI. “This is a clear double standard.”
Surendran, the BJP’s former Kerala unit president, wrote on X: “So Rahul ji, what happened in Keralam, is it still ‘reward for theft’ or suddenly the beauty of democracy?”
The controversy also drew criticism from CPI(M) leader P Rajeev, who, according to The News Minute, described the appointment as a serious issue and argued that election officials are generally kept separate from other government responsibilities to preserve confidence in the electoral system.
Congress leaders rejected the allegations. PTI reported that AICC general secretary K C Venugopal defended the appointment as an administrative decision, maintaining that governments are empowered to place experienced officers in important positions and insisting that no political considerations were involved.