Two major developments in the last 24 hours have put the ruling CPI(M) in Kerala in a quandary. K Surendran, state chief of the BJP alleged late on Tuesday evening that P Sreeramakrishnan, Speaker of the Legislative Assembly is in cahoots with the gold smuggling and hawala cartels and his name has been figured in the list submitted by the investigating agencies in a sealed cover to the trial court.
This was followed by Swapna Suresh, the kingpin of the gold smuggling scam making a plea to the Court asking for security to her life as a group of officials called on her in prison to warn her from naming some of the prominent persons in her statement to the court.
While the Speaker’s office rejected the charges made by Surendran by Wednesday night, the allegations has caused widespread dissatisfaction among the party cadre as reports and videos about Sreeramakrishnan’s liaison with the controversial women were circulating in social media since early July. “There is no truth in these charges. Speaker’s visit to foreign countries and all his interaction were with official announcement. Reports linking the Speaker with persons involved in gold smuggling scam are all fake,” said the Speaker’s Office in a release on Wednesday.
The release also said that there were nothing unusual in the Speaker’s foreign trips as most of his family members were abroad and it was mandatory for him to call on them. Sreeramakrishnan is the scion of the Purayath family of Perinthalmanna, one of the leading feudal families in Malabar.
The department of prison, Government of Kerala, said that there was no truth in the charges made by Swapna Suresh that her life was in danger and she should be provided adequate security in jail. “I was called on by a team of officials who instructed me not to reveal the names of CPI(M) leaders and other Government offcials who were involved in gold smuggling and hawala transaction.
They also warmed me that if I disclose any of the names, my life as well as that of the lives of my family members would be in danger,” she had told the trial court on Tuesday.
Ramesh Chennithala, Leader of the Opposition and Mullappalli Ramachandran, president, KPCC, said on Wednesday that the Pinarayi Vijayan government should be held responsible if something untoward happens to Swapna or her family members. The department of prison, ordered a probe into the complaint by Swapna about threat to her life from some sources.
It may be remembered that while she was in a Thrissur prison, Swapna had complained of chest pain and had been admitted to the Medical College Hospital in the city. A senior minister in the Pinarayi Vijayan government reportedly rushed to the hospital and is believed to have met her, according to intelligence sources in Thiruvananthapuram. Swapna also spoke to many persons making use of the mobile phones of the women cops guarding her while she was in the hospital.
In yet another development, C M Raveendran , additional private secretary to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan got himself admitted to Medical College Hospital in Thiruvananthapuram citing health issues. Raveendran had been summoned by the Enforcement Directorate for questioning about his disproportionate asset on Thursday. “There is nothing unusual in Raveendran not presenting himself before the ED. He is not well and that is the end of the matter,” said Tourism Minister Kadakampalli Surendran. This was the fourth time in a row Raveendran is avoiding the summons from the ED.