Congress leader chides IAS officer wife for praising CM Vijayan's private secretary

Thiruvananthapuram, April 16 (IANS) Senior IAS officer and Vizhinjam Port Managing Director Divya S. Iyer came under fire from her husband, a former two-time Congress legislator K.S. Sabarinath, on Wednesday, for praising CPI(M) leader K.K. Ragesh, the private secretary to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan.

Ragesh was appointed as the party's new district secretary at Kannur on Tuesday.

After Ragesh was given the new post, Iyer took to her social media handle, Instagram, and posted, “Learnt many lessons from Ragesh during the past three years. He is a hardworking person. Thank you, for always considering us with utmost respect -- an art that is getting endangered in power corridors across the globe.”

However, Sabarinath, presently the vice president of the Youth Congress, took exception to the post and said there was no harm if a government officer praises government programmes, but here the case was different.

“Even though her applause had no other overtures, since the new post for Ragesh was a party post and not a government post, she could have shown restraint, and hence it has now become a political issue,” said Sabarinath.

Sabarinath is the son of veteran late former Speaker and Minister G. Karthikeyan, who passed away when he was the Speaker in 2014.

Following his father's demise, Sabarinath quit his plush job and plunged into politics. He won the by-election and repeated his success at the 2016 Assembly polls, but in 2021, he lost his seat. In between, he married Iyer, and both pursued their profession.

Ragesh has, for the past four years, been the private secretary to CM Vijayan.

Incidentally, Iyer, by virtue of being an IAS officer, and Ragesh, holding the powerful post of private secretary to the chief minister, had to interact as part of their official duties.

But soon after she posted the praise, Sabarinath’s social media account was flooded with criticism, especially from his party colleagues.

K. Muraleedharan, veteran Congress leader and son of legendary Congress leader K. Karunakaran, said, "All know that she is one officer known for trying to please the CM, and hence her statement will be treated like that only."

--IANS

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