Union Minister V Muraleedharan on Friday slammed the Kerala government over the gold smuggling case saying that those involved in smuggling are hand-in-glove with those in power.
Addressing a press conference here, the minister said, "The Kerala government, that had in the first place invited the Central Government for an enquiry, has now gone to court against CBI and said the agency does not have the authority to investigate. This shows that those involved in smuggling gold are hand-in-glove with those in power."
The Union Minister also raised questions on the additional charge of Electronics and IT Department to Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister.
"One more question that is being raised is...normally in every government in the various states the principal secretaries to the Chief Minister, they hold the charge of that office only. They do not hold an additional charge of the particular department in the government. But here, the principal secretary holds the charge of Electronics and IT Department of the government of Kerala and it is well-known fact that the Chief Minister has some relatives who are in the field of IT and electronics against whom there have been allegations," Muraleedharan said.
"Now the BJP and people of Kerala have been demanding that Chief Minister of Kerala should resign owning the moral responsibility of the whole incident that has happened," he added.
Meanwhile, speaking about the Kerala Secretariat fire that broke out on August 25, he said the forensic report indicates deliberate effort on the part of somebody to destroy the evidence.
"Ministers said it was a short circuit. But now we've Forensic Department report which says, it wasn't a short circuit. It indicates that there was a deliberate effort on the part of somebody to destroy the evidence," the union minister said.
On August 25, a fire broke out at the Kerala Secretariat in Thiruvananthapuram. The smoke was seen coming out one of the floors of the secretariat building.
The fire was later doused and no injuries were reported.
The matter had come to light after 30 kg gold worth Rs 14.82 crore smuggled in a consignment camouflaged as diplomatic baggage was busted by the Customs in Thiruvananthapuram on July 5.
( With inputs from ANI )
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