'Transfer season' begins; Leaders of Congress-Muslim League clash after oath-taking ceremony

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The clash between leaders of pro-government organisations tarnished the exuberance over the UDF's return to power after a decade. Leaders of the Kerala NGO Association, a service organisation of the Congress, and the leaders of the State Employees Union (SEU), an organisation of the Muslim League, clashed at Swaraj Bhavan, the Principal Directorate of the Local Government Department.

The altercation escalated into a fistfight. The possibility of a conflict was averted by the intervention of security personnel and activists from both sides. The commotion was noticed by passers-by and others. The conflict was caused by the SEU's intervention and transfer of an employee of the Aryanad Panchayat to the Local Government Principal Directorate without the knowledge of the NGO Association. The incident took place at around 2 pm on Monday. Threats and challenges were hurled by both sides near the entrance of Swaraj Bhavan.

Ever since they came to know that the local government department belonged to the Muslim League, the SEU leaders had been pressuring the officials to issue transfer orders. However, the association leaders took a stance to approve transfers only for the list provided by the NGO Association. This put the officials in a crisis. As the pressure intensified, the official responsible for issuing the transfer orders went on leave. The SEU leaders influenced another official, who came as a replacement, to the initial transfer procedures, which resulted in a conflict. Recently, online transfers have been implemented in the local government department. The move comes as applications for this year's online transfer are being accepted, due to the change in government.