Thiruvananthapuram (The Hawk): The youthful mayor of Thiruvananthapuram, Arya Rajendran, appears to be in trouble after a letter that was purportedly addressed by her to Anavoor Nagappan, the district secretary of the CPI-M, requesting a list of applicants for 295 temporary positions in the Corporation, went viral on social media.
However, Rajendran denied composing the letter (which was printed on her business letterhead), and Nagappan also denied receiving it, but both promised to look into the situation.
In the meantime, the Mayor will be asked to resign for breaking her oath by the Corporation's opposing parties, the BJP and the Congress.
The ruling CPI-M, which is holding high-level meetings of the state party unit here on Saturday and Sunday, has been greatly impacted by this occurrence.
The letter was leaked by one of the party members, and the party is allegedly furious that it has already gone popular across social media.
The letter from Rajendran to Nagappan begins with the salutation, Comrade, and then states that there are 295 openings for various positions in the upcoming health department linked to the Corporation and that he is looking for a list of potential applicants.
The Mayor was away in Delhi for a CPI-M protest march against the BJP national government at the time that this dispute began, incidentally, using the hashtag "Where is my job."
K.S. Sabarainathan, a leader in the Youth Congress and a former two-term member of Congress, criticised the Mayor for doing this.
Sabarinathan added, "We are informed she is gone in Delhi attending a protest calling for jobs, yet in her own domain, positions are provided to their own party members and these back door appointments have been going on for a while.
The Mayor needs to step down for this serious act of corruption, according to K. Surendran, the state BJP president.
Jobs in the government are increasingly frequently reserved for CPI-M members and their family members. We will organise rallies to force the resignation of the Mayor-led Corporation's current leadership, according to Surendran.
The Mayor has stated that she has not written such a letter, hence she should immediately file a complaint with the Cyber wing and check if the person who did this is held accountable, according to BJP councillor and Thiruvananthapuram district president V.V.Rajesh.
The senior leadership of the CPI-M is infamous for installing its stooges in key positions and running the show, and this is one instance of this, according to Rajesh.
(Inputs from Agencies)