Putting the Kerala government in a spot, Agriculture Department Special Secretary N Prasanth, IAS, once again criticised Additional Chief Secretary (Finance) A Jayathilak. Prasanth alleged that Jayathilak has scuttled the careers of many IAS officers.
In a Facebook post on Sunday, Prasanth said a mere walk in the secretariat corridor can tell you how many honest people have been ruined by Jayathilak as they refused to write file/report/note as ordered by him(Jayathilak).
Prasanth also said that some people are advising him in the form of threats to talk to Jayathilak and strike a compromise. To this, the IAS officer said in the post that he wanted to put an end to the list of IAS officers whose lives have been destroyed by Jayathilak.
“According to the IAS service rules, one should not criticise the government or government policies. Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution of India belongs to me just like any other citizen. Some are advising me in the form of threats to talk to Jayathilak and strike a compromise. It is better not to endanger yourself. If I point to the list of lives he has destroyed, I would not be afraid. My little obstinacy is meant to put an end to this and get justice for them too,” Prashanth wrote in his post.
“Understand that someone is taking a risk and stepping up as a whistleblower because justice only prevails under public scrutiny in today’s unfortunate climate. As an IAS officer protected by Article 311 of the Constitution, I can be that whistleblower. Who else but me, for the time being?” he said.
The squabble between the two IAS officers has come into the open, with N Prasanth, Special Secretary in the Agriculture Department, criticising his senior A Jayathilak, Additional Chief Secretary (Finance), in a Facebook post on Saturday.
Prasanth was provoked by a news report that said that Jayathilak had submitted an adverse report against him to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan. The report allegedly contained serious allegations against Prasanth during his tenure as Chief Executive Officer of ‘Unnathi – Kerala Empowerment Society’, an initiative for the welfare of scheduled castes and tribes.
He was accused of having taken government files under his personal custody. When queried on the issue, Prasanth returned only a part of the files to the minister’s office, Jayathilak’s report said. Further, the report said that Prasanth did not turn up at his office regularly. There were months when he was absent for up to 20 days, and he also manipulated attendance records, and “other duty” was claimed in the name of non-existent meetings, the report said.
Taking to Facebook, Prasanth likened Jayathilak to a “self-proclaimed successor to the Chief Secretary’s post”. In his first post on the day, Prasanth explained his version of the allegations against him. He made another post saying that Jayathilak was serving as a “special reporter” to the daily which published the news report.
“I’m compelled to reveal some facts about senior IAS officer Jayathilak who prepares adverse reports against me and promptly submits them to the daily. I am forced to reveal some facts about him which the public should know,” Prasanth said in the post.
“Though I don’t like discussion on government files in the public domain, I have no other option. I intend to reveal things that would be available under the Right to Information Act. He is a great person who himself proclaims that he would be the next Chief Secretary. So, one should have fear and respect towards him,” he further wrote.
The rumble within the administration taking a public tone has not gone down well with the state government. Chief Secretary Sarada Muraleedharan said there will be action against Prasanth. There will be an inquiry into the whole episode, she added.
Meanwhile, Gopakumar, former Additional Private Secretary to ex-Finance Minister Dr TM Thomas Isaac, has accused Prasanth of misappropriating funds for personal use while serving as the Kozhikode Collector. Gopakumar alleged that Prasanth diverted funds meant for river conservation or a similar project to purchase a car.
In a Facebook post, Gopakumar accused Prasanth of using public funds for personal gain, a finding reportedly made by the Finance Department’s Non-Technical Inspection Wing. The department conducted an investigation and filed a report on the matter, which was prepared under the leadership of an Additional Secretary.
Gopakumar further claimed that Prasanth threatened the Additional Secretary who authored the report. He alleged that the IAS officer pressured the official to suppress the findings related to the misappropriation of funds during his tenure in Kozhikode.