N Prashanth is an IAS officer of the 2007 batch
Thiruvanathapuram:
Kerala IAS officer N Prashanth aka ‘Collector Bro’, who has been suspended on disciplinary grounds after he publicly criticised a senior officer, has over 3 lakh followers on Fb and 50,000 on Instagram. His social media exercise had earlier raised politicians’ eyebrows, however the bureaucrat has insisted that social media is the most effective platform to succeed in the individuals.
Mockingly, it’s his social media criticism of a senior officer that landed him in hassle and led to the federal government motion in opposition to him. The 2007-batch IAS officer described Further Chief Secretary A Jayathilak as a psychopath and accused him of orchestrating baseless information studies in opposition to him. Following the state authorities’s motion, the officer has stated he’s a “whistleblower”. He additionally stated that being an IAS officer was not his sole ambition and he had different pursuits.
Who Is ‘Collector Bro’?
N Prashanth is from Thalassery in Kerala’s Kannur district. He studied at Loyola Faculty and Authorities Regulation School in Thiruvanathapuram. He went on to finish a level in banking legislation earlier than becoming a member of IAS in 2007. After serving a number of roles, he was appointed Kozhikode district collector in 2015. It was throughout this stint that he was described as ‘Collector Bro’ for his social media interactions with individuals and his distinctive initiatives. One such initiative that grabbed consideration was a Fb message during which he requested individuals for assist to wash a 14-acre pond. He promised the volunteers a plate of Malabar biryani. A number of volunteers responded to the decision and had been rewarded with a biryani deal with later.
Later, he wrote a ebook, Collector Bro: The quixotic ‘thallals’ of a civil servant, describing his expertise of main the Kozhikode district administration. Through the years, he rose to the put up of Particular Secretary within the SC/ST Improvement Division.
The Outburst
Mr Prashanth has levelled critical allegations in opposition to Further Chief Secretary Jayathilak. He has described the senior bureaucrat as a “psychopath” and alleged that he ruined the lives of subordinates who didn’t observe his directions. The set off for the outburst was a media report that claimed a number of information of ‘Unnathi’ — an initiative aimed on the welfare of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes — went lacking throughout Mr Prashanth’s tenure as its CEO. The IAS officer trashed the allegations and accused Mr Jayathilak of being a “particular reporter” who was allegedly undermining him by planting pretend information.
Following the suspension, the IAS officer instructed a TV channel, “It is a new expertise for me. Criticising the federal government or its insurance policies is fallacious and motion could be taken. I do not suppose anybody will likely be of the opinion that I’ve completed something like that. My criticism was aimed toward sure people’ inappropriate tendencies, notably relating to fabricated studies. Proof has additionally come to mild relating to this. I belief that creating pretend studies is just not a authorities coverage, but when criticising such actions results in penalties, that is information to me.”
The Political Backdrop
The motion in opposition to N Prashanth can be taking part in out in opposition to a political backdrop. CPM chief and former Fisheries Minister J Mercykutty Amma has alleged that the IAS officer was concerned in a political conspiracy in opposition to her. The plot, she alleged was hatched by Congress chief Ramesh Chennithala and N Prashanth, who was earlier his personal secretary.
“Right now, Kerala is witnessing the fallout of Shri Prashanth IAS breaking all service guidelines and customary decency. However again in February 2021, Prasanth performed the villain in a political conspiracy,” she stated in a Fb put up.
She referred to Mr Chennithala’s allegation that the Fisheries Division, then below her, sanctioned a Rs 5,000 crore deep-sea trawler deal. “This information stirred up controversy. When reporters requested me, I clarified that no such deal had taken place. Ramesh Chennithala launched a doc supposedly displaying that an MoU had been signed… Chennithala falsely claimed that the Fisheries Division had signed the MoU, however in actuality, it was signed by Prasanth,” she added. Mercykutty Amma misplaced the 2021 polls in Kundara, which she has represented thrice.
Amid the row, the Congress-led UDF has stated authorities officers in Kerala are preventing one another below the Left regime.