Kerala Congress Leader Alleges Chief Minister's Office Involvement in Data Collection Controversy

Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala accused Kerala's Chief Minister's Office of orchestrating a large-scale data collection involving personal details of government employees and pensioners, citing a December 31, 2025 letter from the Chief Minister's Officer on Special Duty. The letter directed departments to compile and submit comprehensive personal data via the K-SMART application by February 12, 2026, for a new digital communication platform. Chennithala alleged this constituted a major privacy violation and political misuse ahead of Assembly elections, while the government has not publicly responded to these claims.