Reacting to the Customs summon to Kerala Higher Education Minister KT Jaleel for bringing Quran copies through the UAE consulate, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) State Vice President KS Radhakrishnan on Saturday said that the minister was using religion as a tool to smuggle gold and money.
"The Chief Minister of Kerala should take necessary action against Kerala Higher Education Minister KT Jaleel in the wake of Customs department's summon to the minister last week for bringing Quran copies through the UAE Consulate. The minister is using religion as a tool to smuggle out gold and money," KS Radhakrishnan told .
Radhakrishnan said that the education minister was contacting the UAE Consulate for personal assistance and had no hesitation in violating the rules of the State.
"KT Jaleel has no hesitation in violating the acts and rules regarding the nature of the relationship between the state government and a foreign country. He was a frequent visitor to the UAE Consulate and he made an illegal request to the UAE Consulate to get benefits from them. His claim was that the UAE Consulate authorities contacted him and requested to accept dates and Quran. It is evident that the UAE has denied it and according to their interpretation, Jaleel contacted them to get assistance from the UAE Consulate," BJP leader said.
"He used the Quran as a tool that could help him to keep an obscure identity regarding money laundering and gold smuggling," he added.
Radhakrishnan also accused KT Jaleel of misusing government properties to smuggle gold and currency.
"Customs already made it clear that there is protocol violation in the activities of the minister in connection with the UAE Consulate. He misused the government properties, including the vehicles and the office to smuggle gold and currency. He has to give a proper answer. What is his business with the UAE Consulate? As a minister in a state government, if he wants to get in touch with the UAE Consulate, he has to get the permission of the Union government which he never sought," Radhakrishnan concluded.
The Customs Department has issued a notice to Kerala Minister KT Jaleel asking him to appear before it on Monday for questioning.
( With inputs from ANI )
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