Mr. Vijayan’s reply assumes significance in view of the allegations made by Ms. Suresh.
Thiruvananthapuram:
Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has said that he has visited Dubai five times since 2016 since assuming the top post and never forgot to take any of his belongings on the trip, as alleged by Swapna Suresh, prime accused in the gold smuggling case. .
Mr Vijayan’s reply assumes significance in the wake of shocking allegations made by Ms Suresh, a former employee at the UAE Consulate here, that the Chief Minister had forgotten to take a baggage and was asked to deliver it immediately to Dubai during his 2016 visit . ,
Ms Suresh also alleged in a series of recent press conferences that currency notes were found in the package and were later sent to Dubai through a diplomat as per the instructions of the then Consulate General.
However, in a one-line reply, Mr. Vijayan rubbished the allegations and made it clear that he did not forget to take his luggage during his visit to Dubai.
Mr Vijayan on Monday gave a written reply to a question raised by opposition Congress MLA Anwar Sadat in the state assembly.
To another question whether the allegations were factual, he replied that such question has no relevance.
Stating that all his visits to Dubai were purely for official purposes, Chief Minister Vijayan also gave detailed answers to related queries regarding his programs and meetings there.
However, M Sivashankar, former principal secretary to the chief minister, who was suspended and jailed for smuggling gold, had reportedly told customs officials in an earlier statement that Mr Vijayan was there as a diplomat. One item was sent through Dubai. It also included some mementos that were to be distributed during the Chief Minister’s function there.
He reportedly said in the statement that it was decided to hand over the goods to a person carrying the goods in Dubai to avoid any delay in delivery and help was offered by the Consulate General.
The IAS officer had reportedly also said in his statement that the package had reached the state delegation in Dubai before the first meeting of the Chief Minister took place in Dubai.
(Except for the title, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)