BJP Kottayam Unit Chief Appointed Rubber Board Chairman in Unprecedented Political Posting

Kottayam: The Central government has appointed N Hari, BJP's Kottayam region president and a current Rubber Board member, as the new Chairman of the Rubber Board — marking the first time in the statutory body's history that a political appointee has been placed at its helm. An official order to this effect has been issued by the Union Ministry of Commerce.

Until now, the Rubber Board has been led exclusively by IAS officers or domain experts from the rubber sector. Critics say the appointment is part of a BJP agenda to strip the Board of its autonomous character and bring it under direct party influence — describing it as a backdoor political rehabilitation exercise at the expense of a key institution serving Kerala's rubber farmers.

The move comes at a particularly difficult time for the sector, with rubber farmers already facing acute distress due to falling prices, subsidy cuts, and unfavourable import policies. Opponents of the appointment argue that instead of safeguarding farmer interests during this crisis, the Centre has chosen to prioritise political patronage — a decision they say is consistent with a broader pattern of saffronising government institutions, including those vital to Kerala's agricultural economy.