Kerala government to hunt down CEC Gyanesh Kumar; orders vigilance probe against him

A two-decade-old Kerala controversy returns to the centre of a national political battle

October 5, 2026

Congress, the CEC and a controversy from Kerala’s past

In a last-ditch effort to dethrone the Narendra Modi government from office, the Indian National Congress (which has become an Italian Nazi Congregation over the years) and its hangers-on are taking Indians for a ride. The Congress-led United Democratic government, popularly known as the Sponsored Government because of the frequent foreign visits by the ministers, which are termed as sponsored trips, is digging up the past antecedents of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, who was a Kerala cadre IAS officer before moving to the Center. Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala has ordered a vigilance probe into the 2006 suicide of a top official of PATI Bel, a joint venture which was tasked with laying/ reconstruction of roads in the State.

The 2006 suicide of the general manager of PATI Bel, a joint venture between Malaysian company PATI and Bhageeratha Engineering Ltd of Kerala, had embarrassed the then Left Democratic Front government led by V S Achuthanandan. In a press meet held last week, Thomas Issac, the then minister in the VS government, blamed Gyanesh Kumar, the then PWD secretary, for the suicide of Lee Been Seen. Issac alleged that Been had named Gyanesh Kumar for pressurizing him to resort to the extreme step[1]. But the question being asked is why Issac kept mum about the “issue” though he was holding the minister’s post for ten years (2006-2011 & 2016-2011).

When a person is appointed as Election Commissioner, the selection panel goes through all the antecedents of the prospective candidate, and this includes vigilance and intelligence reports. Ramesh Chennithala, the ruling home minister of Kerala, has ordered to file a case against Gyanesh Kumar on Saturday for the latter’s role in the suicide of Lee. But it is not known whether Chennithala or any other ministers/ officials in the state have seen the 2006 suicide note by Lee.

What the people have forgotten is the controversy generated by the 1990 appointment of T N Seshan as Election Commissioner by the then Chandrasekhar-led government. It was an open secret that Seshan was appointed as ECI at the instance of Rajiv Gandhi, the then leader of the opposition. The then Kerala chief minister, E K Nayanar, is on record saying that Seshan was an acolyte of the Nehru-Gandhi clan and that was the reason behind his appointment as ECI. It was only during the tenure of Congress prime ministers that election commissioners were appointed in violation of all laws in the land. Navin Chawla was appointed as EC and later elevated as CEC only because of his close proximity to the Gandhi clan. N Gopalaswami, who superannuated, had written to the government a strong-worded letter not to consider Chawla for the top job for obvious reasons. Since his days in the IAS, Chawla was a hanger-on in the Gandhi household.

The Congress leaders across the country are confident that public memory is short and the Nehru-Gandhi clan could manipulate and manoeuvre the way people think and act. That is the reason why the Jimmy Nagarwala scam of 1970, to the tune of Rs.60 lakh, and the Dharma Teja case involving Rs.500 crore during the Nehru era do not figure in the national narrative. Gyanesh Kumar is one of the rare breed of IAS officers who stand out for integrity and honesty. The Congress and other opposition parties remained silent when he was appointed as CEC in February 2025 because they could not find any fault with him.

Rahul Gandhi and his advisors had blamed the EVMs for their successive failures in the 2014, 2019 and 2024 Lok Sabha elections. Gyanesh Kumar began his tenure as CEC only in February 2025, and it is strange that he is being blamed for the failure of Congress to touch the three-digit figure in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. Ramesh Chennithala, the Kerala Home Minister who is after the blood of the CEC, had praised him and the SIR for the success of the Congress in the 2026 Legislative Assembly election in Kerala[2].

The Congress is groping in the dark to find out some reason or other to save the Nehru-Gandhi clan from the ignominy of the successive defeats the party is facing since 2014. It may take years for the party to get the elusive charges against Modi & Company.

Note:
1. Text in Blue points to additional data on the topic.
2. The views expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily represent or reflect the views of PGurus.

Reference:

[1] Suicide note embarrasses Kerala – Nov 27, 2006, HT

[2] Rahul Gandhi’s SIR claims “debunked” by Ramesh Chennithala’s praise of process during Keralam Assembly results: Kesavan – Sep 25, 2026, ANI

For all the latest updates, download PGurus App.