The fight between suspended Kerala IAS officer N. Prasanth (IAS:2007:KL) and Chief Secretary A Jayathilak (IAS:1991:KL) refuses to die down as Prasanth continues to attack Jayathilak through his social media account. In the latest, Prasanth has levelled a series of serious allegations accusing the Chief Secretary of overreach by repeatedly issuing government orders without the knowledge of the minister concerned.
As usual, Prasanth took to his social media account to launch his offensive against Jayathilak. He issued a highly damaging statement on Monday, claiming that this was part of a larger pattern of Jayathilak’s administrative overreach.
But the most damaging attack comes at the end when he describes a culture of bureaucrats “appropriating political power through flattery,” charging that such conduct violates the ethical foundations of the civil services.
Citing recent media reports, Prasanth alleged that Jayathilak had issued orders independently without even sending files to the department’s minister. He claims when Dr Jayathilak served in the SC/ST Department, the then minister K. Radhakrishnan had maintained close oversight over file movements.
However, during the minister’s absence, Jayathilak allegedly started acting as the minister himself and tried to push through files. Prasanth alleges that it was due to his opposition to Jayathilak’s objectionable actions that eventually led to disciplinary proceedings against him.
Prasanth further alleged that IAS officer K Gopalakrishnan (IAS:2013:KL) was appointed CEO of the Unnathi mission without the knowledge of either the minister concerned or the Chief Minister.
Prasanth also claims that secretariat staff had informed him that Jayathilak used to frequently issue unilateral government orders when working in departments. He adds that orders issued without delegated authority have no legal validity and would not withstand judicial scrutiny.
Prasanth demands the cancellation of all such orders and the initiation of legal action against Jayathilak.
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