Chief Electoral Officer’s CMO posting, BJP accuses Cong of hypocrisy
Follow TNM's WhatsApp channel for news updates and story links.Dr Rathan U Kelkar IAS, who served as Kerala's Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) and Secretary of the Election Department, has been appointed Secretary to Chief Minister VD Satheesan. Kelkar’s appointment sparked a political controversy in the state, as both the Opposition Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI (M)] and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) questioned the decision. They both raised Rahul Gandhi’s allegation of “the bigger the theft, the bigger the reward” on May 12, following the appointment of former West Bengal CEO Manoj Agarwal as the new Chief Secretary of the State.Senior CPI(M) leader P Rajeev said Kelkar’s appointment was a “serious issue” and added, “To ensure the credibility of the election system, an IAS officer is appointed as the CEO only after being relieved of all other responsibilities. Appointing the same person as the Chief Minister’s secretary itself becomes a serious issue, especially in the context of Rahul Gandhi’s statement.” He also said the Congress national leadership should clarify, and Rahul Gandhi should clarify that he has the same stand in Kerala as well."When BJP appoints former West Bengal CEO Manoj Agarwal as Chief Secretary, RahulGandhi screams: “The bigger the theft, the bigger the reward.” But exactly 10 days later, the Congress govt in Keralam led by VD Satheesan appoints Keralam CEO Rathan Kelkar as Secretary. So Rahul ji, what happened in Keralam, is it still “reward for theft” or suddenly the beauty of democracy?" K Surendran, former president of the Kerala unit of BJP, wrote on X. In West Bengal, Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari had appointed former Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Manoj Kumar Agarwal as the state's Chief Secretary after his government took office. The appointment of Manoj Kumar Agarwal, a 1990-batch IAS officer, had led to strong criticism from Opposition parties including the Congress as the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process by the Election Commission is said to have widely helped BJP in the polls. Kelkar, a 2003-batch IAS officer of the Kerala cadre, holds an MBBS degree and brings a wide administrative portfolio to the role. He has previously served as Secretary of the Health and Family Welfare (Medical Education) Department, Secretary of the Kerala University of Health Sciences, State Mission Director of the National Health Mission, and Secretary of the Electronics & Information Technology and Environment Departments.
Follow TNM's WhatsApp channel for news updates and story links.
Dr Rathan U Kelkar IAS, who served as Kerala's Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) and Secretary of the Election Department, has been appointed Secretary to Chief Minister VD Satheesan.
Kelkar’s appointment sparked a political controversy in the state, as both the Opposition Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI (M)] and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) questioned the decision. They both raised Rahul Gandhi’s allegation of “the bigger the theft, the bigger the reward” on May 12, following the appointment of former West Bengal CEO Manoj Agarwal as the new chief secretary of the state.
Senior CPI(M) leader P Rajeev said Kelkar’s appointment was a “serious issue” and added, “To ensure the credibility of the election system, an IAS officer is appointed the CEO only after being relieved of all other responsibilities. Appointing the same person as the chief minister's secretary itself becomes a serious issue, especially in the context of Rahul Gandhi’s statement.”
He also said the Congress national leadership should clarify, and Rahul Gandhi should clarify that he has the same stand in Kerala as well.
"When BJP appoints former West Bengal CEO Manoj Agarwal as Chief Secretary, RahulGandhi screams: “The bigger the theft, the bigger the reward.” But exactly 10 days later, the Congress govt in Keralam led by VD Satheesan appoints Keralam CEO Rathan Kelkar as Secretary. So Rahul ji, what happened in Keralam, is it still “reward for theft” or suddenly the beauty of democracy?" K Surendran, former president of the Kerala unit of BJP, wrote on X.
In West Bengal, Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari had appointed former Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Manoj Kumar Agarwal as the state's Chief Secretary after his government took office. The appointment of Manoj Kumar Agarwal, a 1990-batch IAS officer, had led to strong criticism from Opposition parties including the Congress as the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process by the Election Commission is said to have widely helped BJP in the polls.
Kelkar, a 2003-batch IAS officer of the Kerala cadre, holds an MBBS degree and brings a wide administrative portfolio to the role. He has previously served as Secretary of the Health and Family Welfare (Medical Education) Department, Secretary of the Kerala University of Health Sciences, State Mission Director of the National Health Mission, and Secretary of the Electronics & Information Technology and Environment Departments.
