VS denies role in posting of Arunkumar in ICT

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Former Education Minister M A Baby  told the legislative committee probing into  the alleged lapses in the appointment of V A Arunkumar as director of ICT Academy that the appointment lacked legal approval. Answering a query during the sitting of the committee here on Tuesday, he admitted that there was no legal approval for the posting. He, however, said that Arunkumar  was an efficient officer.Attending the sitting, former Chief Minister V S Achuthanandan told the  committee led by V D Satheesan that Arunkumar had not been appointed as director of the ICT Academy during his tenure as chief minister. No order was issued in this regard during the time of the LDF Government.He said that a file asking for a convenient date to convene a  meeting of  the governing  body of the IHRD to decide on the appointment and the salary of  Arunkumar as director,  had come before him on February 11 last year.  But he had returned the file citing that the new government assuming office in May, 2011, can decide on the appointment. He said if he had wished to help Arunkumar he could have convened the governing body and taken the decision in his favour in February, 2011, itself. He opined that IHRD might have taken the decision in order to get registration for ICT Academy.The legislature committee  members K Sivadasan Nair, S Sarma, P K Gurudasan, Mullakkara Ratnakaran, Abdul Rehman Randathani, Sreyams Kumar, Thomas Unniyadan and C K Nanu were present at the sitting.