Thiruvananthapuram, Apr 16 (PTI) Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Wednesday said that the harsh criticism of a woman IAS officer who praised his former private secretary, CPI(M) leader K K Ragesh, reflected a “patriarchal” mindset.

Responding to reporters’ queries on the criticism against Divya S Iyer, the CM said that those opposing her remarks were reacting based on her husband’s political affiliation and expected her to share the same stance.

“As part of this extreme form of male-dominated thinking, they believe that she should not have a stand different from that of her husband. That is why they criticised her so harshly,” he said at a press conference here.

He also described the criticism against her as “words of immature minds.” Iyer, currently serving as the Cultural Director and Managing Director of Vizhinjam Port, is married to Congress leader and former MLA K S Sabarinathan.

In an Instagram post on Tuesday, she invoked the epic Mahabharata to compliment Ragesh, stating that even Karna would be jealous of this “KKR shield,” apparently referring to his role as the CM’s private secretary.

She also shared a photo of Ragesh with CM Vijayan along with her post.

Referring to her post, the CM said that Iyer had innocently expressed her views as an official about something related to the government, and that is how it should be seen.

Iyer had also said that she had imbibed several good qualities from Ragesh by closely observing his official conduct over the past three years.

“Thank you for always treating us with the utmost respect—an art that is becoming endangered in power corridors across the globe,” she added.

Her post quickly went viral, drawing both support and criticism.

Later the same day, the IAS officer released a video clarifying her post, defending her compliments and explaining her good intentions. However, her praise for the CPI(M) leader did not sit well with several Congress leaders.

Congress leaders K Muraleedharan, Rahul Mamkoottathil, and Youth Congress Kannur district secretary Vijil Mohan were among those who strongly criticised Iyer for her remarks.

When asked for his response, Muraleedharan said on Wednesday that Iyer was among the officers who displayed servitude to CM Vijayan.

He said he placed no value on her post and warned that such actions could be harmful to her in the future.

In a scathing Facebook post, Vijil said the officer should remember that she was not drawing her salary from the AKG Centre (the CPI(M) headquarters) under CM Vijayan’s regime.

He also alleged that her praise violated the service rules governing civil servants.

As the row intensified, Iyer’s husband and Congress leader Sabarinathan also reacted, saying that while her post was made with good intent, the praise could have been avoided.

Complimenting someone appointed to a political post was a different matter altogether, he added.

Ragesh, however, defended the officer and criticised those who attacked her for saying good things about him. PTI HMP LGK SSK HMP SSK KH