K T Jaleel refutes nepotism charges

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Minister for higher education and minority affairs K T Jaleel on Sunday termed as false the nepotism allegations against him over deputing his relative as the general manager of Kerala State Minorities Development Finance Corporation. He also ruled out his resignation or cancelling the deputation.

Adeeb K T, Jaleel's cousin, was appointed general manager of the corporation on deputation from South Indian Bank. "The deputation was strictly in accordance with the Kerala State and Subordinate Rules (KSSR)," Jaleel said.

‘Appointed person was the only one qualified’

The appointed person was the only one qualified from among the seven applicants who responded to a press release carried in prominent newspapers in August 2016,” Jaleel told reporters here.

He said the post was not lucrative enough for officials in the banking sector as it offered only the salary. He alleged that the allegation followed recovery procedures against loan defaulters — “majority of them Muslim Youth League leaders” – by the corporation.

“The preliminary observations say majority of defaulters on loans disbursed during the previous UDF government’s tenure are in Koduvally (Kozhikode) area. We will soon come out with details of the corporation’s non-performing assets and take recovery procedures necessary for securing an NBFC licence from the RBI,” he said.

Jaleel refuted allegations that the eligibility criteria were amended to facilitate the appointment of his relative, saying the objective was to get the maximum number of applicants with BTech and PGDBA (post-graduate degree in banking analytics) qualifications. He also said South Indian Bank was a scheduled bank and a statutory body from where the government can appoint officials on deputation, ‘even without calling for application or conducting interview’.

“You cannot deny posts to deserving people on grounds that he/she is related to a minister. Here, we haven’t denied opportunity to any applicant with required qualification,” he added.

Opposition leader Ramesh Chennithala and BJP spokesperson M S Kumar, in separate statements, demanded Jaleel’s resignation. “Such posts should be filled after inviting applications through advertisement in newspapers and not through press releases. Jaleel has clearly favoured his relative,” Chennithala said. Kumar said chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan should remove Jaleel from the cabinet like E P Jayarajan who faced a similar nepotism charge.