This is an updated version of the report, published originally on 10 September, 2025.
Thiruvananthapuram: “An officer should only be worried if his career has been a smooth sail through the backwaters,” B. Ashok had told ThePrint in September last year, shrugging off a face-off with the Left Democratic Front (LDF) government in Kerala. At the time, the 1998-batch IAS officer was at the centre of a row after the ruling government had transferred him from the agriculture department to the post of chairperson and managing director of Kerala Transport Development Finance Corporation (KTDFC).
The officer, now serving as Principal Secretary (Sainik Welfare), has found himself in the middle of a similar battle. On Thursday, he criticised the Pinarayi Vijayan-led government for exercising excessive power over civil servants. He remarked that an “IAS caucus” worked to ensure the continuation of the present government. He also said that Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board (KIIFB) CEO K.M. Abraham acted as a de facto second-in-command to the administration.
His comments came a day after the LDF government suspended him for allegedly violating service rules by publicly slamming the administration via media and social media comments.
“My suspension was an example of how some think that IAS officers can only praise them, and that they are born for that. They think IAS officers and any other government officials don’t have any other rights. I take the suspension as recognition,” Ashok said at a press conference.
For the veterinary scientist-turned-civil servant, legal battles and disciplinary actions are not new as he has had run-ins with successive Kerala governments, be it the LDF or the UDF (United Democratic Front).
In fact, the officer had faced at least three posting changes since the beginning of 2025. At the beginning of 2025, he was moved to the Local Self-Government Reforms Commission—a posting that he challenged before the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT). The tribunal ruled in his favour, noting that deputation of IAS officers requires the Union government’s approval as well as the officer’s consent.
Later, in September, the tribunal again stayed the Kerala government order appointing the Kerala cadre officer as KTDFC chairperson. Soon after, he was posted as Principal Secretary, Personnel and Administrative Reforms Department, before being shifted to Sainik Welfare, the position he held at the time of his suspension.
“It’s hard for politicians to support individuals and officers because of political pressure,” he told ThePrint, elaborating on his frequent tussles with the administration.
His record of run-ins divides opinion about him within the civil service community. Ashok is an “intelligent” officer but not always a “team player”, which leads to controversies, according to a retired civil servant.
“He is an intelligent officer who can deliver. There is no doubt about that. But we all work in a hierarchy and we have to work as a team. We are not sure if he is a team player,” the retired civil servant told ThePrint.
Critic of ‘Kerala model’
Ashok holds a Bachelor’s degree in veterinary science, after which he attended the University of London and Duke University for higher studies in Water Science, Policy & Management following his early posting as the Project Director of Jalanidhi, the rural water supply initiative in Kerala.
He has also worked as the district collector of Pathanamthitta and chairperson of the Marine Products Export Development Authority under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, prior to assuming the role as the founding vice-chancellor of the Kerala Veterinary and Animal Sciences University (KVASU).
His team, according to the IAS officer, was able to lay a strong foundation for the University with about Rs 400 crore of academic infrastructural investment as well as collaborations with Western universities.
“Due to our intense hard work, the University steadily climbed in its academic position and got the Chancellor’s Award for the young university in 2016, barely months after my term ended,” he said.
In April, he won the Best ‘Policy Paper’ award at the 16th Round of the Mid-Career Training Programme Phase-V at the Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration for the paper focusing on India’s agricultural processing sector titled, ‘Harnessing India’s Agri-Processing & Value Addition Sector.’
Hailing from Kollam district, one of the first standoffs in Ashok’s career happened during the UDF government headed by the late Oommen Chandy in 2011. This was after he wrote an article criticising senior IAS officers holding several posts on a charge basis. He was removed from the post of KVASU vice-chancellor immediately. In July 2021, the Kerala High Court ruled in his favour and recalled the order.
While his clashes with the UDF were beginning, the 52-year-old officer saw more controversies under the Left administration.
In 2022, Ashok was removed as the Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) chairperson following clashes with employee unions. He had also reportedly posted critical remarks about the efficiency of the KSEB administration on Facebook, which were later deleted.
The same year, as agriculture secretary, he publicly criticised a draft Bill proposed by the government to remove the Governor as Chancellor of universities, questioning the lack of reasons provided in the Bill.
The criticism came amid the government’s continuous tussle with the Raj Bhavan as the Governor was refusing to approve the vice-chancellor recommendations made by the state.
Friction happens irrespective of the political parties, as cadre-based parties are often ‘rigid’ in their approach to policy making and taking advice from civil servants, the IAS officer said. “The UDF ministers tend to be slightly more diplomatic. LDF has had excellent ministers too, but they often do their thinking more within party circles than with government servants,” he added.
Ashok has been a vocal critic of the ‘Kerala model’ of development, a policy widely publicised by Kerala’s communist leaders regarding socially inclusive and progressive policies that focus on social indicators.
“In a sense, both fronts are slightly left of centre in policies. Kerala really needs a slightly right-of-centre pro-investment, growth and jobs party or front to challenge the familiar status quo,” the civil servant said.
ThePrint reached spokespersons of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), or the CPI(M), and the Congress, but both of them declined to comment.
(Edited by Tony Rai)
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