Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Monday got tough with IAS officials who threatened to go on mass leave in protest against Vigilance Director Jacob Thomas’s alleged vindictive action against some of their colleagues.
Consequent to the Chief Minister’s unrelenting stance, the IAS officials called off their plan to go on mass casual leave.
Addressing a press conference after meeting a delegation of senior IAS officers here, Mr. Vijayan made it clear that the government would not succumb to antagonistic methods.
The government viewed the IAS officers’ special meeting on Saturday and their mass leave seriously. The move of those who were at the helm of the administration to go on mass casual leave when an FIR was registered as part of a VACB inquiry could not be justified in any manner, the Chief Minister said. Mr. Vijayan added that the officers informed him that their move had been misunderstood and their action was not aimed at the government.
The IAS officers met the Chief Minister to put pressure on the government to sort out the mounting confrontation between them and Mr. Thomas. The flashpoint was the VACB’s decision to include Additional Chief Secretary (Industries) Paul Antony as the third accused in a nepotism case against former Industries Minister E.P. Jayarajan.
