Backdoor appointment bid puts Thiruvananthapuram mayor in trouble

Thiruvananthapuram corporation mayor Arya Rajendran is facing strong protest after a letter purportedly written by her to CPI(M) district secretary seeking candidates for recruitment to 295 daily wage posts, including those of doctors and nurses, in the corporation came out.

Even as the mayor maintained that she was unaware of such a letter, the opposition Congress and BJP launched a strong agitation demanding action against the mayor and the mayor's resignation.

Rajendran, who took over as mayor at the age of 21 in 2020, had earned much attention as she was considered as the youngest mayor in the country. She recently got married to the youngest MLA in Kerala, CPI(M)'s Sachin Dev.

The letter to CPI(M) district secretary Avanoor Nagappan was given in the mayor's official letterhead. According to the letter dated November 1, the mayor requested the CPM district secretary to give a preferential list for recruitment to 295 daily wage posts in the corporation's health department. The posts include that of one public health expert, 74 doctors, 66 nurses, 64 pharmacists, 23 lab technicians, 59 multi-purpose workers/sweepers, two optometrists and six part-time sweepers.

With the mayor as well the CPI(M) district secretary disowning the letter, a probe may be ordered to find its source.

Incidentally the backdoor appointment bid at the corporation came out at a time when the mayor had gone to Delhi to take part in a demonstration organised by the Democratic Youth Federation of India against rising unemployment. Even earlier, many decisions of Rajendran had courted controversies.