Following Swapna Suresh’s statement to the Enforcement Directorate against Kerala Assembly Speaker P Sreeramakrishnan, the latter took to Facebook to pen his disagreement and contempt for such a report and the central agencies that wrote it. The Speaker claimed that the central agencies are trying to tarnish the image of the LDF government and its workers by resorting to such inferior tactics. He claimed that the agencies are not doing democracy any favour by writing such muck on official reports.
“We cannot stand by and watch as the agencies are trying to protect their own party by attacking and accusing the Kerala government, its ministers using such frivolous ‘statements’,” he said. “The people of Kerala will recognise the efforts of the agencies to tarnish the image of the left and its workers during each stage of the election. False propaganda is being spread at various stages of the election as if it was given by the investigating agencies.”
Meanwhile, Opposition Leader Ramesh Chennithala asked why no action has been taken by the central agencies despite such serious accusation against Sreeramakrishnan. “The accusation against the Speaker in the gold smuggling case is very serious. However, the central agencies and the Kerala government are playing games with each other. The judicial probe announced by the state government is also a part of this game. Why hasn’t there been any action from the central agencies’ side following Swapna Suresh’s claims,” asked Ramesh Chennithala.
According to Swapna, the Speaker had called her to his flat “for some personal dirty intentions”. Sreeramakrishnan had told her that the flat in Chakka was his hideout and that she had not gone alone despite several calls from the Speaker. “Apart from Sreeramakrishnan’s investments in the Middle East College, Oman, as far as I know, the flat at Marutham, Pettah, belongs to him. However, it is in the name of some other person and he told me about the real owner of the flat to convince me to feel safe as he used to call me there for some personal dirty intentions,” she said. She added that she was removed as the in charge of the Middle East College as she didn’t “succumb to the Speaker’s intentions”.
In her claims, Swapna also added that she personally informed Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan about resigning from the UAE consulate and she revealed that M Sivasankar’s — former principal secretary to the Chief Minister — team was there in the CM’s office. Her statement also carries severe allegations against Sivasankar, claiming that the latter’s team in the CM office had been hijacking many government projects in Benami names. She also named CM Raveendran — Pinarayi Vijayan’s Additional Private Secretary — and Puthalathu Dineshan — the CM’s political secretary — amongst the team.
