Opposition protests, demands CM Pinarayi Vijayan's resignation on Gold smuggling racket

Amid the row over the Kerala Gold Smuggling Racket which allegedly involves the top officials from Chief Minister's Office, the BJP Yuva Morcha and the Youth Congress in Kerala have held demonstrations demanding the resignation of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan owing to the alleged involvement of his close aides the smuggling racket. The protests were held in various place of including Kozhikode, Kannur, and also in front of the chief minister's residence. Kerala CMO is facing the heat as Principal Secretary to the chief minister, M Sivasankaran is also under the radar for appointing Swapna Suresh in the post. It has been alleged that Swapna has links with the CM and has been seen with him at parties when she was working at the UAE Consulate.

Meanwhile, the prime accused and conspirator Swapna Suresh's bail petition will be heard by the Kerala High Court on Friday. Swapna Suresh is an ex-employee of the UAE Consulate and was currently worked as an operations manager of the Kerala State Information Technology Infrastructure (KSITI) Limited. She was also perceived to have close links with the Kerala Chief Minister's Office. As per Republic Media Network, the bail plea of Swapna Suresh states that she is falsely implicated in the case in which she is not connected at all. The bail plea says that she doesn't have anything to disclose to the investigation officer in the matter and the custodial interrogation is unnecessary at this point of time. Meanwhile, the Customs department is still on the hunt for Swapna Suresh and her business partner Sandeep Nair.

READ | Kerala Gold Smuggling: MHA Permits NIA Probe, Cites 'implications For National Security'

READ | Congress Welcomes NIA Probe In Kerala Gold Smuggling Case; Demands Involvement Of CBI, RAW

CM denies allegations

On July 5, Customs officials seized 30 kg of gold worth Rs.15 crore at the Thiruvananthapuram Airport from a diplomatic cargo addressed to a person in the UAE Consulate. The case took a political turn after photos of Swapna Suresh with Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan surfaced. Following the backlash over her appointment, she was sacked by the state government. Principle secretary M Sivasankaran has been replaced after his role in hiring Swapna Suresh came under the scanner.

However, Vijayan has denied all the allegations and said that Swapna doesn't hold any government post and it is just an appointed post adding that the Kerala CMO doesn't have any connection to the recruitment. He also maintained that the CMO was not aware of her appointment as the operations manager of the KSITI Ltd. As a face-saver, the CM wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday seeking his 'immediate intervention' and called for an investigation by central agencies. To this, the MHA on Thursday ordered a probe by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) on the issue. 

READ | Gold Smuggling Case: Accused Swapna Suresh Moves Kerala High Court To Seek Bail

READ | 'Custodial Interrogation Unnecessary, Nothing To Disclose', Says Swapna Suresh's Bail Plea

Kerala Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala, on Tuesday, also wrote to PM Modi seeking his intervention into the probe while alleging the role of the CMO in the gold smuggling racket. 

Union Minister of State for External Affairs V Muraleedharan on Wednesday said that the incident is being viewed seriously with utmost attention by the Central government and assured that strict action will be taken against those found guilty. Muralidharan questioned the role of Kerala government led by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan in the case and urged it to issue a clarification for the people of the state.