Thiruvananthapuram, Apr 12 (PTI) Senior IAS officer K R Jyothilal, who was removed from the post of principal secretary of the General Administration Department (GAD) over the Governor's displeasure regarding his letter against the appointment of a senior journalist-turned politician in a key post in the Raj Bhavan, was on Tuesday put back in charge of his earlier department.

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Jyothilal, who is presently the principal secretary of the Transport Department, was given the full additional charge of GAD, the Kerala government has said in an order issued with regard to transfer and posting of several IAS officers.

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It was Jyothilal who had written the letter on behalf of the government to the Raj Bhavan citing the violation of prevailing conventions in the appointment of former BJP leader Hari S Kartha as Additional Personal Assistant to the Governor.

This had led to Governor Arif Mohammed Khan refusing to sign the policy document of the CPI(M)-led LDF government on the eve of the budget session of the Assembly.

Khan had also, in turn, questioned the appointment of personal staff of ministers and MLAs and the eligibility of such persons for pension after just two years in the service of the legislators.

Senior IAS officer M Sivasankar, who was arrested by the central agencies in the sensational Kerala gold smuggling case and was later reinstated back into service after his suspension was revoked in January this year, was also given additional responsibilities.

Sivasankar, presently the principal secretary of Sports and Youth Affairs Department, has been given the full additional charges of Animal Husbandry, Dairy Development and Cultural Affairs (Zoo) Departments, the order said.

Besides these two officers, several others were also transferred or given additional charges as part of the reshuffle.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)