The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has switched its probe in the gold smuggling case to the terror funding angle, and this has struck fear in the heart of the Kerala Chief Minister. The chair of Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan stands threatened, as his name has been dragged down in the gold smuggling scam.
The National Investigation Agency arrested the prime accused of the case whilst they had been on the run and cited that this case might have serious implications on national security. The accused were then booked under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA).
Pinarayi Vijayan has been under the radar ever since the CMO’s intervention in the “diplomatic cargo” case to clear the names of Swapna Suresh and her accomplices. Despite the fact that the Chief Minister has been maintaining that Price Waterhouse Coopers (PwC) was responsible for Swapna’s appointment, the fact remains that the call records point in the opposite direction.
The CM has also been constantly in defence of his close associate Sivasankar, who is considered to be one of the the top guns in this case. Many consider this as a returning of favour, since he had defended Vijayan when the Sprinklr data scam had thrown the LDF government under the bus earlier this year. Following this, there have been constant rallies and protests by the opposition calling for Vijayan’s resignation, as reported by the Organiser.
“There is no scope for a probe into the case when Pinarayi Vijayan is continuing as Chief Minister. If he has ethics, he should resign from the post and face a probe into the case,” : @surendranbjp #ResignKeralaCMhttps://t.co/CY4ilFh6vt
— BJP KERALAM (@BJP4Keralam) July 21, 2020
CM @vijayanpinarayi must be interrogated in the #KeralaGoldSmuggling case. The case has direct links with him. He and his office must be questioned. Besides NIA, CBI must join & probe all angles like corruption, nepotism and misuse of CMO.#CorruptLDFGovt #PinarayiMustAnswer pic.twitter.com/0DQo42oPYM
— Ramesh Chennithala (@chennithala) July 19, 2020