In Pathanamthitta/Thiruvananthapuram, on February 25, Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala claimed that government officials in the CMO obtained personal details of government employees and pensioners to send messages about the state government's achievements.
While not denying Chennithala's claim, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan stated that the details were collected from various departments to create a comprehensive database.
Vijayan asserted that the government believes that integrating data from various departments will greatly improve personalized notifications. He stated that the central and other state governments use this information to send messages to citizens.
Vijayan clarified that the letter released by Chennithala only shows the government's steps to collect the details.
He stated that circulating the letter as evidence is for a different purpose.
Vijayan also believes that interpreting government messages, such as "you have been granted DA arrears" and "it's time to pay your land tax," as data leakage is a malicious intent.
The Kerala IT Mission, the state's apex agency for e-governance, collects and safeguards the information, according to Vijayan.
He assured that no compromise has been made and all personal information is safe within government systems.
No information is shared or handed over to any agency outside the government. In addition, the government has an extensive State Data Center (SDC) to ensure the safety of all information.
Vijayan expressed his regret that the UDF, led by the Congress, is moving forward by opposing all government schemes for the public.
He further claimed that the opposition does not want people to have access to information about government decisions and projects.
He contended that this is a public declaration of the fear of being isolated from the people.
He also stated that informing people about government decisions is part of the government's official functioning and something the public has a right to know about.
Earlier in the day, Chennithala claimed that a "major breach of data privacy" occurred when the officer on special duty (OSD) in the Chief Minister's Office (CMO) obtained personal details of government employees.
He stated that this move was carried out with an eye on the upcoming assembly polls in the state.
Chennithala claimed that personal details, including those of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), were obtained from the KSMART (Kerala Solutions for Managing Administrative Reformation and Transformation) system and the Service and Payroll Administrative Repository for Kerala (SPARK).
He stated that the details were requested via a letter dated December 31, 2025, issued by the OSD, with a directive to provide the information by February 12.
Chennithala accused the OSD of issuing such a letter without the CM's knowledge or approval, calling it a "major breach of data privacy" and a "huge political conspiracy."
He further stated that using personal details for political campaigning by the CPI(M) and LDF is "illegal" and "undemocratic," and that it should not have been done.
Chennithala also demanded that a case be registered against the CM, his OSD, and the Chief Secretary for allegedly engaging in these activities.
He stated that using personal details to send messages to people, including High Court judges, as part of the election campaign is "shameless and undemocratic."
These remarks came a day after the Kerala High Court observed that emails and messages allegedly sent by the CMO to officials highlighting the state government's achievements constituted an intrusion of privacy.
The court's observation came while hearing a plea by Dr Rasheed Ahammed, an associate professor at a college in Malappuram, and Anil Kumar K M, a clerical assistant at the Secretariat in Thiruvananthapuram, who claimed that sending such messages amounts to an election campaign.
The state government had agreed to the court not to send similar messages until February 27, the next date of hearing in the matter.
The petitioners have claimed to be aggrieved by a bulk messaging campaign from the CMO, allegedly targeting state government employees and others receiving salaries and benefits under various schemes on the eve of the Assembly elections.
According to them, the messages were sent by accessing private data provided for intimating the credit of monthly salary and benefits.
