Pinarayi Vijayan’s continuation as Chief Minister has become untenable in the backdrop of last two days’ events , according to K Surendran, president, Kerala BJP.

In a scathing attack on Pinarayi Vijayan and the CPI(M), the BJP leader termed Vijayan as the chief of a mafia dealing in gold smuggling, drug trafficking and hawala transactions. “Chief Minister Vijayan heads a smuggling mafia,  a mafia specialising in smuggling of gold, money laundering and hawala transactions.

Vijayan is the prime accused in gold smuggling,” lambasted  Surendran while addressing the media at Thiruvananthapuram.

Quoting from statements made by Vijayan since July 2020 when the gold smuggling scam was busted by the Customs Department, Surendran said that there were wide discrepancies and contradictions in the former’s stance.

 “Chief Minister had told in his initial reactions that he did not know who the  controversial woman was and has not met her. But when Swapna Suresh (the controversial woman) told the Enforcement Directorate sleuths that it was Vijayan who introduced her to principal secretary Sivsankar,  he retracted his earlier statement  and said he knew her.

The Enforcement Directorate in its charge sheet has said that it was with the knowledge and concurrence of the chief minister that Swapna Suresh, whose educational qualification is dubious was appointed as Chief Executive of Kerala Government owned Space Park,” said Surendran. 

The BJP chief said that two more ministers in the Kerala cabinet and two more senior officials in the Chief Minister’s Office were involved in gold smuggling activities. “I will come out with their names at the appropriate time. But before that I ask Vijayan to submit his resignation and go home,” said Surendran.

He said Vijayan while meeting the media on Thursday read out from a prepared statement and stayed away from sensitive questions. “There are enough evidence to link the chief minister to the LIFE Mission, the flagship programme of the Kerala Government,” charged the BJP leader.

Ramesh Chennaithala, Leader of Opposition,  went to the extent of calling Pinarayi Vijayan as a mafia chief. “He heads a mafia of gold smugglers, drug dealers and hawala operatirs. Kerala has never seen in the past a group of criminals heading a government,” charged Chennithala, the frontrunner in Congress for the post of Chief Minister after the next year’s assembly election.