THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Senior bureaucrat M Sivasankar penned his memoir without the state government's permission, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan informed the Assembly on Tuesday.
Vijayan had earlier backed his former Principal Secretary for the remarks in the book. In a written reply to Najeeb Kanthapuram MLA, the chief minister said as per service rules, government servants cannot write autobiography or service history without clearance from the government.
Sivasanakr, who was under suspension for alleged involvement in the gold smuggling through diplomatic channel case, was reinstated in service recently.
Two weeks ago he came out with the book Aswathamavu - Verum Oru Aana (Aswathamavu - Just an elephant) that looked into the gold smuggling scandal. The book soon kicked up a row after Swapna Suresh, a key suspect in the gold smuggling case, came on record alleging that many things mentioned in the book about her were contrary to facts. She accused Sivasankar of exploiting her and covering up the facts.
On Tuesday the chief Minister also replied in writing in the assembly that the government has not appointed Swapna Suresh's husband in the K -Phone project. The reply was given to a question from Congress MLA M Vincent. Earlier in a Television interview, Swapna had stated that Sivasankar had offered her husband Jayasanakr a job in the K-phone project as logistic manager.
Addressing a press conference last week, Vijayan had justified the contents of Sivasankar's book. The CM said Sivasankar has written about his past experiences. What he said in the book against the National Investigation Agencies and the media was factual. He also said that those who were hurt in the revelations in the book might have hated him. The chief minister, however, had evaded a direct reply to questions on whether Sivasankar had obtained permission to write the book.