Kerala BJP, CPM target Rahul Gandhi over ‘double standards’ on bureaucratic appointments

Leaders of the BJP and the CPM in Kerala have sharply criticised Rahul Gandhi, accusing him of adopting double standards regarding bureaucratic appointments.

Opposition leaders pointed out that while Rahul Gandhi slammed the new BJP government in West Bengal for appointing former Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Manoj Kumar Agarwal as Chief Secretary, the newly elected Congress government in Kerala has similarly appointed Kerala Chief Electoral Officer Rathan U. Kelkar as Secretary to Chief Minister V.D. Satheesan.

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Former Kerala BJP president K. Surendran, in a Facebook post, criticised the Congress party and accused Rahul Gandhi of following a “double standard” after the appointment of Kerala’s Chief Electoral Officer, Rathan U. Kelkar, as Secretary to the newly elected Chief Minister, V. D. Satheesan.

Surendran highlighted that just 10 days earlier, Rahul Gandhi had publicly attacked the BJP after West Bengal Chief Electoral Officer Manoj Kumar Agarwal was appointed Chief Secretary of the state by the new BJP government.

Taking a sarcastic swipe at Rahul Gandhi, Surendran said that while Gandhi had condemned the BJP government for appointing West Bengal’s Chief Electoral Officer as Chief Secretary, the Congress-led government in Kerala had now done the very same thing by appointing Kerala’s CEO as Secretary to Chief Minister V.D. Satheesan.

“If BJP does it in Bengal, it is a gift for vote stealing. If Mr. V.D. Satheesan does it in Kerala, it is the beauty of democracy. Rahul and company are a global double standard gang,” Surendran wrote on Facebook.

Senior CPM leader and former Industries Minister P. Rajeev also demanded that Rahul Gandhi clarify his position regarding the appointment of Kerala’s Chief Electoral Officer, Rathan U. Kelkar, as Secretary to Chief Minister V.D. Satheesan.

Rajeev pointed out that when former West Bengal Chief Electoral Officer Manoj Kumar Agarwal was appointed Chief Secretary by the new government there, Rahul Gandhi had fiercely opposed the move. Gandhi had then described it as a “reward for vote theft” and alleged deep-rooted collusion between the ruling party and the Election Commission.

“The officer who was in charge of the elections has been appointed as the Chief Minister’s secretary. Normally, a cooling-off period is necessary. The Election Commission usually requires that an IAS officer be relieved of all other posts before being appointed, in order to ensure the credibility of the election system. Appointing someone as the secretary to the Chief Minister immediately after the elections is a serious matter,” Rajeev said.

The CPM leader insisted that the national Congress leadership must answer for what he termed a blatant contradiction. He questioned how an immediate top-tier bureaucratic reward for an election officer could be labelled “vote theft” in West Bengal, but considered perfectly acceptable in Kerala.

“Can an immediate top-tier bureaucratic reward for an election officer be labelled as ‘vote theft’ in West Bengal, but considered perfectly normal in Kerala just because the Congress-led UDF won?” he asked.