Ramesh Chennithala alleges over one crore Kerala residents’ data, including Stree Suraksha beneficiaries, was leaked from the CMO to a private agency for electoral purposes.
Kochi (Kerala) : Senior Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala on Friday alleged that sensitive personal data of more than one crore residents of Kerala, including lakhs of women enrolled under the Stree Suraksha Scheme, was leaked from the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) to a private agency for electoral purposes.
Addressing reporters in Kochi, Chennithala described the development as a grave case of “data theft”, claiming that details of ordinary citizens, government employees, officials and women beneficiaries were shared with a private organisation “without taking any precautionary measures”.
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“This has been done for election purposes,” he alleged.
The Congress veteran said the controversy follows his earlier charge that personal data of government employees and pensioners was sought by an Officer on Special Duty (OSD) in the CMO to circulate messages highlighting the state government’s achievements.
He further claimed that on February 7, the same OSD issued a letter requesting personal information of women registered under the Stree Suraksha scheme.
“Such a thing has never happened in the history of the state. It is a serious breach of data protection,” the Congress leader contended.
Chennithala also alleged that since the Chief Minister heads the government, access to such information effectively places it in the hands of the ruling CPM, asserting that there is no distinction between the party and the administration.
According to him, the personal data was allegedly handed over to a Mumbai-based private organisation because the government lacked the capacity to process such a vast volume of information.
“A comprehensive probe is required as leakage of such details could lead to cybercrimes. The government is creating a situation where cyber frauds could occur,” he claimed.
Earlier this week, Chennithala had called the collection of personal data of government staff and pensioners a “huge political controversy” and a “major breach of data privacy”.
PTI
Published: 27 Feb 2026, 01:29 pm IST
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