Pinarayi Vijayan | Photo: Mathrubhumi
Kochi: The Kerala High Court on Thursday dismissed a petition against the pension awarded to personal staffers of ministers in the state.
It also said that the appointment of personal staff is a policy matter of the government.
The court was hearing a petition filed by an ‘Anti-Corruption People's Movement’.
The move comes at a time when Governor Arif Mohammed Khan has vowed to "abolish the system" and "take the issue to the national level." He frequently uses the issue in his press conferences to criticise the state government, often relying on questionable arguments such as ministers regularly change staffers to ensure pensions for more party members.
"It's highly discriminatory, fraud and deceit being played on people of Kerala. I am going to make it a big national issue. It is a violation of the spirit of the constitution. It will be my priority to bring it to an end. This money belongs to the people of Kerala and not to the cadre," he once said.
Khan has even directed the Chief Secretary to suspend the pension scheme. He said that the personal staff was looting tax money of the people and this system would be abolished within a month. However, nothing happened after that.
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