A. Jayathilak Appointed as Chief Secretary of Kerala
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Synopsis
A. Jayathilak has been appointed as the new Chief Secretary of Kerala, succeeding Sarada Muraleedharan. He faces allegations from suspended IAS officer P. Prasanth, who claims the charges against him lack merit.
Key Takeaways
- A. Jayathilak appointed Chief Secretary of Kerala.
- Successor to Sarada Muraleedharan, retiring on April 30.
- Jayathilak has held significant roles within the state and central government.
- Faced allegations from suspended IAS officer P. Prasanth.
- Controversy involves accusations of conspiracy and false documentation.
Thiruvananthapuram, April 23 (NationPress) Senior civil servant A. Jayathilak has been appointed as the new Chief Secretary of Kerala, as announced on Wednesday.
A state cabinet meeting, led by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, endorsed his appointment.
Jayathilak, an IAS officer from the 1991 batch and currently serving as the Additional Chief Secretary in the Finance Department, will take over from Sarada Muraleedharan, who is set to retire on April 30.
Interestingly, Muraleedharan had assumed her role after her husband, Dr. V. Venu, retired last year.
Throughout his career, Jayathilak has held significant positions within the state and has also led the Marine Products Development Authority of India and the Spices Board, both of which operate under the Central government.
Nonetheless, he is currently facing allegations from P. Prasanth, a now-suspended IAS officer from the 2007 batch.
Prasanth was suspended last year after levelling serious accusations against Jayathilak and another IAS officer, K. Gopalakrishnan (2013 batch), along with Muraleedharan. He has issued legal notices, claiming that they fabricated charges and conspired against him.
The controversy revolves around an inquiry report that Jayathilak allegedly prepared, which pointed fingers at Prasanth for missing documents related to the Unnathi project during his time as CEO, irregularities in attendance records, and breaches of service conduct, including derogatory social media comments.
Following a hearing by Muraleedharan last week, Prasanth posted on his Facebook account: "Action should be taken against Jayathilak, Gopalakrishnan, and Mathurbhumi newspaper for their conspiracy against me and for creating false documents. The rule of law applies to the government as well, and it should not act in a way that forces those affected to seek legal remedy. This undermines governance. I have not yet taken legal action against the government, and I hope it does not lead to that."
Prasanth contends that the case against him is constructed on unreliable digital evidence, lacking both procedural and legal validity, and places the blame on Jayathilak and Gopalakrishnan for his suspension.
