# IAS officer Rathan Kelkar takes charge as Kerala CM secretary, opposition attacks 2026-08-18T06:26:02+00:00 | Governance | Indian Opinion Desk Corroboration: 1 independent outlet Senior IAS officer Rathan U Kelkar assumed charge as secretary to Kerala Chief Minister V D Satheesan on Sunday, a day after the government transferred and posted the former Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) to the key post. The Chief Minister's Office released photographs of Kelkar taking office, with media reports saying Satheesan directed him to assume charge immediately despite it being a Sunday. The appointment triggered sharp attacks from the CPI(M), CPI and BJP. Millenniumpost reports the BJP termed the move part of the Congress's "opportunistic politics" and demanded a response from Rahul Gandhi. CPI(M) state secretary M V Govindan alleged a double standard, pointing out that Rahul Gandhi had criticised similar appointments in BJP-ruled West Bengal but now AICC general secretary K C Venugopal says the matter is administrative. Venugopal declined to comment directly, stating the decision lies with the government. ## Coverage - millenniumpost.in This story was synthesised by AI from the source linked above. Tags: BJP, Congress, CPI(M), Kerala, Rathan U Kelkar, V.D. Satheesan Canonical: https://indianopinion.org/ias-officer-rathan-kelkar-takes-charge-as-kerala-cm-secretary-opposition-attacks/ License: Summary and commentary (c) Indian Opinion, reusable with attribution. Facts belong to the linked sources. Cite: https://indianopinion.org/ias-officer-rathan-kelkar-takes-charge-as-kerala-cm-secretary-opposition-attacks/#story-in-brief Review state: restored archive article, accurate at time of publication, not offered to search indexes. How this brief was made: an AI model read the report linked above and wrote this summary and analysis, which were published automatically. Published briefs are sampled every hour by an automated quality check; the editor verifies its findings and approves corrections, and corrected briefs carry a dated correction line. We do no original reporting. Methodology: https://indianopinion.org/ai-use-policy/