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| Mayor Arya Rajendran |
Taking to Twitter, Tharoor termed the mayor's action as shameful and said, "Shameful that Thiruvananthapuram CPI(M) Mayor Arya Rajendran has been exposed for seeking names from his party secretary to fill vacancies in the city government. At a time when India's (and Kerala's) youth are grappling with record levels of unemployment, this is a betrayal. He should resign."
The letter was addressed to the CPI(M) district secretary on November 1 and stated that the online application process has been opened to fill 295 daily wage posts vacant in the health department of Thiruvananthapuram Municipal Corporation. The mayor had reportedly requested the party's district secretary to provide the priority list of cadres to be appointed by November 16, which is the last date for submission of applications. When Rajendran took office in 2020, he was celebrated as the youngest mayor of the country. On Sunday he denied writing or signing any such letter, saying it appeared to be edited.
Talking about the same on Saturday, VD Satheesan, Leader of the Opposition in the Kerala Assembly, also demanded his resignation. “Thiruvananthapuram Municipal Corporation Mayor Arya Rajendran, who violated his oath by writing a letter to the CPI(M) district secretary demanding the party's priority list in the appointment of 295 employees in the health department, should resign.
He said that the letter has exposed the misdeeds of the government and added, “The department heads are also reluctant to report the vacancies to the Public Service Commission (PSC) as the CPIM state committee and district committee appointments continue through backdoor recruitment. Applicants of PSC rank list are going to ministers house to report vacancies.
Appointments in municipal corporations have been given to local committees. They are duping the poor who came for job interviews. Direct recruitment is not done in any field. Mafia gangs are working around CPIM offices to make back-door appointments,” said Satisan.
Youth organizations of Congress and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) also protested at the corporation office on Monday demanding Rajendran's resignation for allegedly demanding filling of vacancies with those appointed in the party. BJP Kerala President K Surendran said that the Corporate Governing Council should be dissolved. “Is the role of the CPI(M) district secretary to fill the jobs in the corporation? The vacancies should have been reported to the Employment Exchange. This job racket of CPI(M) is a challenge for the people of the state and lakhs of unemployed youth. This is a violation of nepotism and oath of office."
