Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, on Thursday, July 21, rejected the opposition Congress-led UDF's (United Democratic Front) demand for a High Court-monitored CBI probe into the sensational gold smuggling case, in which a prime accused had leveled serious allegations against him, his family members and some top bureaucrats. Replying to a submission by Leader of Opposition VD Satheesan in the Assembly, Pinarayi said that the smuggling case was completely the Union government’s subject and does not come under the purview of the state government and therefore the state cannot make any request about which agency should probe the case.
"The state government can not say which agency should probe the gold smuggling case as it is not a state subject. There is no need for the state government to take up that responsibility," he said.
Several agencies including the Enforcement Directorate, NIA and Customs are currently probing the case and if any of them felt any limitation in their present investigation, it was up to them to take the decision to hand over the case to others. He also alleged that the CBI was an agency which had been widely misused by the Union governments in various cases across the country.
Irked over the rejection of their demand, UDF members raised slogans against the Chief Minister and the Left government saying they were scared of a CBI probe.
Earlier this year, Swapna Suresh alleged that the Chief Minister and his family knew about the alleged gold smuggling. She claimed that the Chief Minister forgot a bag during his trip to Dubai and the UAE Consulate transported it. She alleged that it had currency notes inside. Post this allegation, the opposition has been protesting for days demanding the Chief Minister’s resignation. CM Pinarayi has, however, completely dismissed the allegations and said that Swapna Suresh was part of a political game to target him without any proof.