'Biggest data leak, court should take up matter'; Ramesh Chennithala releases documents

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Senior Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala has made serious allegations against Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan over an alleged data leak involving the personal details of government employees. Speaking at a press conference, Ramesh Chennithala claimed that the Chief Minister's Office had written to SPARK seeking the personal data of government staff, and described it as a clear example of data leakage. He also released a copy of the letter allegedly sent by the Chief Minister's Office requesting the information.

"Such a letter could not have been sent without the knowledge of the Chief Minister. The details coming out are shocking. All these actions were centred around the Chief Minister’s Office. Sambasiva Rao, who is posted as Officer on Special Duty in the Chief Minister’s Office, was the one who sent the letter to SPARK to collect the data. Details of employees were gathered from all departments," Ramesh Chennithala said.

He further alleged that departments were instructed to submit the details in Excel format through K-SMART and that the information was to be handed over to the Special Secretary of the Public Relations Department (PRD). “Personal details of all government employees were collected. This is one of the biggest data leaks. The move was carried out on the direct instructions of the Chief Minister and was aimed at the Assembly elections. It is also a violation of a Supreme Court judgment. The letter had asked for the employee data to be submitted before February 2026,” he said.

"The letter sought personal details such as the names, phone numbers and job-related information of employees. It also directed that the data should be handed over to the PRD Director before the 12th of this month. The letter had been sent in December. The court should take up the matter. Even High Court judges had received messages from the Chief Minister," Chennithala alleged.

Meanwhile, Chennithala visited the headquarters of the Orthodox Church this morning. He met Catholicos Baselios Marthoma Mathews III and other bishops at the church headquarters. Later, he also visited the NSS headquarters.