Congress Leader Accuses Kerala CM of Orchestrating K-SMART Data Leak
Senior Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala has leveled serious allegations against Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, accusing him of orchestrating a massive data leak from the state's K-SMART application. During a press conference on Wednesday, Chennithala demanded immediate legal action against the chief minister and senior officials in the Chief Minister's Office (CMO).
Allegations of Election-Time Data Breach
Chennithala asserted that the data breach was executed directly at the instance of the CMO in the run-up to the upcoming assembly elections. He presented to the media a letter dated December 31, 2025, which he claimed was sent by Seeram Sambasiva Rao, Officer on Special Duty to the CM, to the Chief Mission Director. The letter allegedly demanded the transfer of complete personal details of government employees from the K-SMART application to the Information and Public Relations Department (PRD).
Details of the Controversial Directive
According to Chennithala, the letter stated that the government was introducing a digital communication platform titled the 'Centralised Notification Hub for Govt Services', with preparatory work already commenced under the PRD. As part of this initiative, personal data of employees across all departments was compiled. The directive specifically sought details from the K-SMART application in Excel format, including:
- Phone number
- Name
- Age
- Gender
- District
- Taluk
- Ward
- Local body
Chennithala further pointed out that the communication instructed that the collected information be submitted to the special secretary of the PRD before February 12 and that the same dataset be shared with the IT Mission.
Chennithala's Strong Condemnation
"In essence, this is a large-scale data breach executed directly by the CMO, amounting to a total violation of employees' privacy. The responsibility rests squarely with the chief minister," Chennithala declared. He emphasized that no such communication could be issued by the Officer on Special Duty without the chief minister's explicit approval, suggesting direct involvement at the highest level of government.
The allegations have sparked concerns about data privacy and potential misuse of government employee information during election season, with Chennithala calling for transparency and accountability from the ruling administration.
