No prior permission sought by CS for publishing article: CM

Chief Secretary Tom Jose had not take prior permission from the Kerala government for publishing an article, defending the police gunning down four suspected Maoists, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said here on Wednesday. The statement in this regard was made by Vijayan in the state assembly.

Jose had kicked up a controversy by publishing the article at a time when the assembly was in session, against which CPI, the second largest partner of the ruling LDF and the Opposition Congress had attacked him. The issue was raised on Tuesday also in the house.

When the matter came up in the assembly on wednesday, the Chief Minister stated that Jose had not sought the government's permission and he had only expressed his personal opinion in the article. Opposition leader in the Kerala Assembly Ramesh Chennithala demanded to know if the government would take any action against the Chief secretary.

CPI state secretary Kanam Rajendran reiterated that the Chief Secretary's action amounted to contempt of court and it was up to the government to take a decision against the official. The four suspected Maoists were gunned down earlier this week in an alleged encounter in the Attapaddi forests in Palakkad district late last month..

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)