Did bureaucratic negligence force Kerala draw blank in President's Medal?

Resentment is brewing within the Kerala Police for not getting a slot in the list of Presidents Police Medal recipients. As the Centre and the State governments blamed each other for the lapse, no officer from Kerala found a place among the awardees, triggering a heated debate in the force, which is known as one of the best among the lot. 

Home Ministry sources clarified that Kerala did not submit its recommendations before the deadline. But the state government argues that it had submitted the list on December 30, the last day for the submission of the list to the Centre. 

The Kerala Police Headquarters recommended 30 officers for the medals, and the list was handed over to the Home Department. A panel headed by Chief Secretary scrutinised the list on 27 December and Chief Minister approved the recommendations on 30 December. Subsequently, the list was submitted online to the Home Ministry before 6.30 pm. The state government claimed that it had proof of the submission. 

But on 3 January, the Centre informed the state that it did not receive the recommendations for the President's Service Medals. When the state replied that it had already submitted the list online, the Home Ministry responded that deadline was already over. 

Meanwhile, Police Officers blamed it on the cold war between the IPS-IAS lobbies for the delay in submitting the list for the President's Medal. The IAS officers in the state had threatened to take mass leave as a protest against the alleged victimisation by Vigilance Chief Jacob Thomas, a senior IPS officer. The bureaucracy was too busy with the fight among each other, leading to the deplorable laxity, police officers regret. 

Kerala has a quota of 14 medals in the President's Service Awards and the state government is likely to initiate a probe into the controversy. 
 

• Kerala Police
• President's Police Medal
• IPS-IAS stand off
• Vigilance Chief
• Thomas Jacob
• IAS strike Kerala