Kerala HC issues notice to Mayor Arya Rajendran on alleged letter written to CPIM's Aanavoor Nagappan

Kochi (Kerala) [India], November 10 : Kerala High Court issued notice to Thiruvananthapuram Corporation Mayor Arya Rajendran on a petition seeking a CBI probe into the letter allegedly written to the communist Party of India (Marxist) CPIM District Secretary Aanavoor Nagappan over appointments to municipal corporation's 295 temporary posts.
While hearing the petition, Single Bench of Justice K Babu asked, "Is there any crime registered in the controversy?"
GS Sreekumar, former councilor of Thiruvananthapuram corporation, approached the Kerala High Court yesterday seeking a CBI probe. The petition alleged that the act of nepotism of the mayor and one of the councilors is very much against the oath taken by both of them at the time of swearing in as councilors in the corporation.
He further contended, "For the past two years over a thousand appointments were made in this fashion by the corporation and a detailed investigation into the matter is necessary. It is imminent that an inquiry needs to be initiated by an impartial authority who will not be fettered with the political high and mighty of the state."
In an alleged letter sent to the Communist Party of India (Marxist) CPI (M) District Secretary Aanavoor Nagappan, Mayor Arya Rajendran demanded a priority list for appointing party members to 295 temporary posts in the Municipal Corporation.
The letter mentions appointments to 295 temporary posts vacant in the health department on a daily wage basis.
A political row has erupted over the issue as the opposition leaders demanded her resignation.
Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Monday demanded the resignation of Thiruvananthapuram Municipal Corporation Mayor Arya Rajendran over her alleged letter to Aanavoor Nagappan demanding a priority list for appointing party members to 295 temporary posts in the Municipal Corporation.
Tharoor termed the Mayor's move as "disgraceful" and said, "Disgraceful that Thiruvananthapuram's CPI(M) Mayor Arya Rajendran has been exposed asking her Party Secretary for names to fill vacancies in city government. At a time when India's (&Kerala's) youth are reeling from record levels of unemployment, this is a betrayal. She must resign!," he wrote on Twitter.
Talking about the same, Leader of Opposition (LoP) of Kerala VD Satheesan also demanded her resignation.
"Thiruvananthapuram Municipal Corporation Mayor Arya Rajendran, who violated her oath by writing to the CPIM district secretary demanding the party's priority list in the appointment of 295 employees in the health department, should resign. CPM should be ready to expel the Mayor if he does not resign," VD Satheesan said.
"Department heads are also reluctant to report vacancies to the Public Service Commission (PSC) because CPIM state committee and district committee appointees continue to be appointed through the back door. Applicants from the PSC rank list are visiting ministers' houses to report vacancies," he further said adding that the letter has revealed the misdeeds of a government.