Kerala Minister for Minority Welfare K.T. Jaleel submitted his resignation on Tuesday (April 13) to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, just days after the state Lokayukta found him guilty of favouritism and nepotism.
In a Facebook post written in Malayalam, K.T. Jaleel wrote that he had been a “victim of unwarranted media witch-hunt for the last two years.”
“Those who were vying for my blood can relax for a while. This is to inform you that I have handed over my resignation letter to the Chief Minister,” Jaleel said in his post.
Considered very close to Kerala care taker Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, Jaleel found himself in trouble on Friday after the Lokayukta pronounced him guild of illegally appointing his second cousin as the General Manager of the Kerala State Minorities Finance Development Corporation.
He was also being investigated by various central government agencies like the National Investigation Agency, Enforcement Directorate, Customs Department for his alleged role in the Gold Smuggling Scam.
Leader of Opposition Ramesh Chennithala asked why the Minister took 3 days to submit his resignation if he claimed to be a man of integrity. “He had to do this today as he had no other way out,” Chennithala said.
BJP state president K Surendran tweeted, “..Earlier, Lokayukta held that Mr. Jaleel has abused his official position to obtain favour for a kin. His partner in crime Mr.Vijayan should tender resignation.”
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