THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Opposition leader Ramesh Chennithala has lashed out at the Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan for 'clinging on' to power even after incriminating evidence against his office in the gold smuggling case. He also dared Pinarayi to face a CBI probe in the case.
Talking to reporters here, Chennithala also said he will appear before the vigilance court in person as the vigilance director had not taken any initiative for a probe on his earlier petitions in the sand mining case and the irregularities in the Bev Q app.
Chennithala lamented that Kerala's image has become tainted in front of the world, ever since the 30 kilogram gold smuggling case snowballed into a major controversy. He said the Chief Minister should step down from office as he has no moral right to continue. When Pinarayi's former principal secretary M Sivasankar had been grilled by the customs department officials for nine hours, Chennithala wanted to know what further evidence the CM required to suspend him from service.
"Whom are you scared of? Who are you trying to whitewash? You're trying to make fun of the media and the Opposition in your daily online class. The people of Kerala are evaluating your performance. You should not ridicule them. What right does the chief secretary and the finance secretary have to probe Sivasankar when the case is already being probed by the NIA?" asked Chennithala.
Regarding higher education minister KT Jaleel's alleged involvement with the suspects in the gold smuggling case, Chennithala claimed that Pinarayi has been shielding him maintaining that he has no connections. He also did not spare the Speaker, P. Sreeramakrishnan, for allegedly compromising on the integrity of the chair he has been holding.
He recalled that during his stint as home minister, he used to regularly convene security meetings of the various airports in the state. "How many meetings has Pinarayi held to ensure foolproof security arrangements in the four airports in the state? The Speaker has no right to continue in office as he has defamed the Assembly altogether. Pinarayi has become tainted and he has no right to continue in office," added Chennithala.
He also said that the Opposition will go ahead in moving a no-confidence motion against the LDF government and a resolution against the Speaker in the Legislative Assembly.