Kerala Assembly Speaker's personal staff to appear before customs in dollar smuggling case

Kerala Assembly Speaker P Sreeramakrishnan's assistant private secretary would appear before the Customs officials in Kochi on Friday in connection with the dollar smuggling case, assembly sources said.

They said the Customs department served a notice to the official, K Ayyappan, at his residential address and he would appear before the authorities on Friday morning at Kochi.

Ayyappan was responsible for charting out the speaker's daily programmes and travel related matters, they told PTI.The notice asking Ayyappan to appear for questioning was delivered at his residential address hours after the Speaker maintained that his prior permission was required to interrogate a member of his personal staff.The central agency had earlier issued summons to Ayyappan at his official address in connection with the probe into the case related to alleged smuggling of USD 1,90,000 (equivalent to Rs 1.30 crore) by a former finance head of the UAE Consulate here to Muscat in Oman.

The currency matter came to light during the course of investigation into smuggling of gold using diplomatic channels.The speaker had come under criticism from the Opposition for inaugurating the shop of one of the accused in the gold smuggling case, Sandeep Nair, months ago.

There were media reports last week that the Customs would soon serve him notice for interrogation in connection with the dollar smuggling case.Earlier on Thursday, quoting the assembly Rules of Procedure, the Speaker said his nod was required to take any legal action against any person within the Legislative Assembly complex.Sreeramakrishnan also defended the recent letter sent by Assembly Secretary S V Unnikrishnan Nair to the Customs stating that theSpeaker's consent was required for quizzing someone who comes under the Assembly Secretariat.

The Speaker's defence came a day after the media reported that the assembly secretary had sent the letter to the Customs after the agency issued the first notice to Ayyappan to appear for questioning.

"As per the rules, Speaker's permission was required to take any legal action against any person within the Legislative Assembly complex. Everything is done in the name of law. So, the Secretary just informed (the Customs) that everything should be done in accordance with the Rules of procedures of the House," he said.

Sreeramakrishnan also said he did not think that the central investigating agencies would question him.

"I am fully confident that there was no lapse from my side. So I have no anxiety," he said, adding that he would end his political career if it was proved that he had accepted even one rupee as bribe from anyone," the Speaker added.

However, Leader of the Opposition in the assembly Ramesh Chennithala alleged that the Speaker was misinterpreting the Assembly rules and trying to sabotage the inquiry.There was an earlier ruling in the Kerala Assembly itself that no others would get the constitutional protection enjoyed by the members of the House, he said.

It is a serious matter that the Speaker and his Office are trying to obstruct the investigation of a heinous crime such as dollar smuggling, Chennithala added. 

(IMAGE CREDITS:www.niyamasabha.org/)