All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC) has come down heavily on the Revenue department’s move to issue a show cause notice to Jayachandran Kallingal, the general secretary of CPI-affiliated Joint Council, for his reported criticism against District Collector Geromic George.
Mr. Jayachandran, who is Tahsildar at Devaswom Special LA Office, Thiruvananthapuram, had participated in a news channel debate on Mr. George’s widely-condemned summoning of a government doctor to his residence to treat a toenail fungal infection.
He was subsequently issued a show cause notice by the Principal Secretary of Revenue Department for “commenting against the District Collector”. He has been charged with failing to obtain the government’s prior permission to participate in the programme and thereby, violating the Kerala Government Servants Conduct Rules, 1960.
In a statement, AITUC state general secretary K.P. Rajendran dubbed the show cause notice as an attempt to enforce a bureaucratic superiority that threatened to set a wrong precedent.
The veteran CPI leader strongly backed Mr. Jayachandran for having behaved responsibly by denouncing the arrogant attitude of the District Collector, whose actions were a blot on the State government. He urged the Chief Secretary and the Principal Secretary, Revenue, to “correct” the government action, which is an infringement into the freedom of the organisation to express the views of the section.
