Kochi: Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan expressed concern over the Civil Supplies Minister G R Anil protesting in public over the appointment of Sreeram Venkitaraman in a department under the Civil Supplies Ministry headed by Anil, media reports said.
The matter came up for discussion during the cabinet meeting when the Minister said that appointment of Venkitaraman without consulting him was objectionable, media reports said.
Pinarayi was upset over the minister telling the media about writing a letter to the Chief Minister expressing his objection over the appointment by the Chief Secretary without consulting Minister Anil who belongs to CPI.
The Ministers could lodge complaints and write letters to the Chief Minister over their problems. But disclosing such things to the media was wrong, the Chief Minister said.
The cabinet meeting ended with this, the reports said.
Embroiled in an accident case resulting in the death of a journalist Basheer, Venkitaraman was suspended for six months. Later, he rejoined service in Thiruvananthapuram even as journalists and political parties protested against it, demanding prosecution of Venkataraman in the homicide case.
His recent appointment as the Collector of Alappuzha district led to widespread protests.
Following this, Venkataraman was shifted to Civil Supplies Corporation as its General Manager by the Chief Secretary without consulting the minister.
There have been earlier instances when ministers have protested against the Chief Secretary’s decisions without informing the ministers concerned.
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