Benny Thomas resigns from minister’s personal staff post

Thiruvananthapuram: Power minister Sunny Joseph’s relative Benny Thomas resigned from the post of minister's personal staff amid the controversy over his appointment.Thomas submitted his resignation letter to chief minister V D Satheesan on Sunday, sources said.

The resignation comes after allegations of nepotism, with opposition parties and critics questioning the inclusion of a close relative in the minister’s personal staff.Thomas, the minister’s brother-in-law, is also general secretary of Kannur district Congress committee and a former president of Ulikkal panchayat.Reports suggested that CM wanted Thomas to step down at the earliest. However, Joseph had defended the appointment.The resignation was made to prevent the controversy from escalating further and to avoid causing embarrassment to party and UDF, sources said. Thomas conveyed that he didn't wish to drag the minister into controversy over his appointment at the beginning of govt’s tenure, sources added.Joseph had publicly defended the appointment on several occasions after the issue sparked criticism. He argued that Thomas was an experienced public representative who had served as a panchayat president with a strong electoral mandate.

Joseph maintained that there were no legal obstacles to the appointment. The minister had said that, if required, Thomas could have been first appointed to another minister’s staff and later shifted to his office. But Joseph wasn’t willing for such arrangements.