Thiruvananthapuram | The Kerala government has suspended B Ashok, Principal Secretary in the Sainik Welfare Department, on charges of violating service rules by speaking to the media and criticising government policies, sources said on Wednesday.

Ashok, a senior IAS officer and the Vice Chancellor of Kerala Agriculture University, had during the Assembly elections in Kerala given interviews to media and taken part in news channels' debates.

He had spoken about political and administrative matters in interviews and TV debates.