Commission closes action against officials responsible for communal mention in PSC bulletin

Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala Public Service Commission has come  to the rescue of the officials who were facing action for communal mention in the official bulletin. The Commission has decided to suspend the action against the staff concerned and to retain them in the charges of publication of the bulletin. Employees are agitated over the Commission’s stance.

In the current affairs section of the magazine's April 15 issue, it was asked where the Tabligh conference that caused the contagion of Covid-19 was held in India. The PSC, a constitutional body, was echoing Sangh parivar propaganda machines’ vitriols used to instigate communal tension.

As the matter turned out to be a controversy, the Commission was compelled to take action against three officials including a member of PSC Employees Union, with CPM leanings.

The Commission expressed regret for the error through a media statement and uploaded a corrected version of the magazine on their website on 12th May.  However, the Commission including the Chairman was forced to retract from the action as CPM district committee and PSC Employees Union turned hostile and intervened in the matter.

As a justification, the Commission now argues that the officials were just copying the news on Covid spread in a brief manner and it was a misunderstanding that it was a question and answer made for exam training.