Thiruvananthapuram, 15 July (H.S.):Kerala Students Union (KSU)state president Aloshious Xavier on Wednesday defended the organisation's criticism of the State government's recent appointments of government pleaders, saying the concerns raised by party workers were genuine and could not be ignored. It may be noted that KSU is the student body of the Congress party.

Responding to Chief Minister V.D. Satheesan's remarks that the appointment of government pleaders was not for the KSU to decide, Xavier said the student wing had every right to express the sentiments of its cadre whenever issues affecting the organisation arose.

He said the controversy surrounding the appointments was based on factual concerns and that the KSU State Committee would convey its views directly to the Chief Minister. According to Xavier, the objections initially raised by former KSU unit presidents of the Government Law College, Thiruvananthapuram, reflected a wider concern shared by KSU workers across the State.

The concerns expressed by our members are also the concerns of the State Committee. We cannot pretend they do not exist. We will meet the Chief Minister and explain the seriousness of the issue, Xavier said.

Earlier in the day, Chief Minister Satheesan dismissed the controversy, stating that he had not received any formal complaint regarding the appointments and accusing sections of the media of unnecessarily amplifying the issue.

When reporters pointed out that the Thiruvananthapuram Government Law College KSU unit and party leader Abin Varkey had publicly objected to the appointments, the Chief Minister replied that they were not responsible for selecting government pleaders.

He said the government was not bound to approve every name recommended by Congress-affiliated organisations and stressed that competent lawyers should represent the government in courts.

Defending the appointments, Satheesan said both advocates at the centre of the controversy were experienced legal professionals whose names had been recommended by both the State Committee and the High Court unit of the Indian Lawyers Congress. Responding to criticism over their alleged SFI background, he noted that several former CPI(M) and BJP members had previously contested Assembly elections as United Democratic Front candidates.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Arun Lakshman