CM threw his weight behind Divya S. Iyer, who came under fire for praising KK Ragesh’s election as Kannur district secretary for CPI (M)

Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Wednesday threw the weight of his office and the government behind plagued IAS official Divya S. Iyer.

Ms. Ayer had caused political controversy and was later opposed to the fire for praising Mr. Vijayan’s political secretary KK Ragesh, because he was elected as the regional secretary of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] In Kannur.

Ms. Ayer’s Facebook post draws a huge impact from the social media handles of Congress leaders and opposition.

Crossing the line

Ms. Ayer’s critics accused the high-profile bureaucrats of crossing the inviolable civil service line for praising political leaders. Some criticisms are almost bounded by the individual and seem to be derogatory. Ms. Ayer found strong support from CPI(M) social media controllers.

Mr Vijayan said Ms. Ayer married a congressional family. Her husband (KS Sabarinadhan) is Aruvikkara, a former lawmaker in Congress. He said: “It is patriarchal and misogynistic to insist that a woman should compulsoryly share or reflect her husband’s politics or thoughts.

Ms. Ayer won the wrath of Oopposition for portraying Mr. Ragesh as a fortress of honesty and dedication. Mr Ragesh said some quarters were deliberately targeted at Ms. Al. He said he had worked closely with Ms. Al as political secretary to the chief minister. “Is a professional forbidden to congratulate another person’s work ethics?” he asked.

Criticized

Ms Ayer was criticized earlier after winning the Alathur Lok Sabha constituency of the Left Democratic Front for winning the Alathur Lok Sabha constituency of the Left Democratic Front for winning the 2024 parliamentary poll.

Opposition leader VD Satheesan declined to comment on the controversy. Congress veteran K. Muraleedharan said unified political power does not well demonstrate bureaucratic politically nonpartisan and public service-oriented routes.