BJP demands resignation of Kerala CM over gold smuggling case

Muraleedharan claimed Vijayan has been changing his stand on the matter from the beginning

Training its guns on Left ruled Kerala, the BJP on Friday demanded the resignation of Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan over the gold smuggling case.

Alleging that those accused in the case are "hand in glove" with the people in power, Union Minister of State for External Affairs and Kerala BJP leader V Muraleedharan said that the state government was making efforts to destroy evidence.

Mentioning a fire incident in a government department, the Union Minister said that it was the handiwork of people in power to destroy the evidence allegedly linked to the case.

"The moral authority of the chief minister is lost. The BJP has been demanding, the people of Kerala have been demanding that the chief minister should resign owning moral responsibility of the whole incident," he told reporters here.

Alleging that Vijayan has been changing his stand on the matter from the day the case was registered, Muraleedharan said that the Left government in the state had first asked the Centre to order a probe into the matter and has now moved court against the CBI, claiming that agency does not have the authority to investigate.

"This shows that those involved in smuggling gold are hand-in-glove with those in power," he alleged, adding that this case is distinct from other cases of gold smuggling because it is "directly" linked to the chief minister's office. The principal secretary to the chief minister has been suspended as well, he added.

The Union minister noted that the case relates to the seizure of 30 kg of gold in Thiruvananthapuram airport on July 5 after the precious metal was found camouflaged in diplomatic baggage.

The Customs, NIA, CBI and the ED were probing various angles of the case and several people, including two former employees of the UAE consulate in Thiruvananthapuram have been arrested by central agencies in connection with the case.