The Kerala government on Wednesday transferred the District Collector of Palakkad, who issued a stop memo against RSS Chief Mohan Bhagwat hoisting the national flag in a school here on the Independence Day.
The Collector, P. Marykutty, has been appointed as Panchayat Director, according to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan’s Facebook post on the decisions of Wednesday’s cabinet meeting. Five new collectors have been moved out in the reshuffle.
Earlier, Pinarayi Vijayan government had courted controversy for transferring Devikulam sub-collector Sriram Venkataraman, who had been acting tough against the illegal land encroachers in Munnar. The government had also faced flak for transferring another IAS officer Adeela Abdulla, who successfully evicted illegal encroachments worth crores of rupees and identified more encroachments in the finance capital, Kochi. The cabinet took the decision to transfer Adeela as an item outside the agenda.
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Sources in the government said that transfer of Marykutty has nothing to do with the recent controversy. Sources close to the Collector also dismissed that it had anything to do with the recent issue.
Defying the collector’s order, Bhagawat hoisted the flag. The Collector later submitted a report to the chief minister and the Education Department also seeking action against the school.
Congress MLA, VT Balram, who represents Thrithala constituency in Palakkad, has ridiculed the Chief Minister for the transfer order of Marykkutty.
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"The state government has transferred the Palakkad district collector who sought action against RSS Chief Mohan Bhagwat. I salute chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan for taking strong action within 24 hours, and thereby proving his allegience. You are the only one, not only in India but in the whole world, who is capable to lead the fight against fascism," the youth MLA said in a Facebook post with a pinch of sarcasm.
