Respite for Sivasankar, CM wins first round

Thiruvananthapuram: At the beginning of gold smuggling case, chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan had welcomed probe by any agency into the involvement of anyone in his office in the case. “If they want to check my office, let them enter. What is the need for unwanted anxiety?” he had repeatedly asked reporters who posed questions on the case during daily news conferences.
When M Sivasankar walked out of NIA office in Kochi after two days of marathon interrogation, along with the CM – the entire leadership of LDF – heaved a sigh of relief.
The involvement of Sivasankar, his trusted principal secretary, in the case was a shock for Vijayan, initially. The CM then heard the version of Sivasankar in detail and decided to keep him out of office as it was clear that he had breached the code of conduct for officers.
“We still don’t know how the investigation is progressing. NIA will tell the court about it. The party has already welcomed the probe and clarified that anyone found guilty must face the consequences,” said CPM state committee member MB Rajesh. On the allegations levelled against the CM and CPM in the case, Rajesh said time would give a befitting reply to the opposition. “People are watching all these. They know all truth”, he added.
During CPM’s online politburo meet on Sunday, Vijayan repeated the position and assured the party that nobody found guilty would be spared. CPM Kerala unit and national leadership had no reasons to dispel his arguments. The consensus within CPM is not to defend anyone who would be linked to the case and keep the government separate from all controversies.
However, the government predicament is not likely to end as UDF and BJP are unlikely to put an end to the controversy. KPCC president Mullappally Ramachandran’s latest statement that there appeared to be a tacit understanding between CPM and BJP to settle the gold smuggling case is an indication of allegations that can be expected in coming days.
“The real issue here is the serious lapse on discharging constitutional responsibility by the chief minister. The official whom he had trusted, and relegated key responsibilities erred. The CM had been warned against his deviations earlier. We all saw what happened during Sprinklr controversy. Yet, he failed to monitor Sivasankar and take corrective steps. The CM should be held accountable for that. The fact is that knowingly or unknowingly a senior CMO official was providing cover for a smuggling racket. That fact is still there,” said political observer Joseph C Mathew.
The more than 30-hour interrogation of Sivasankar by Customs and NIA would be something the opposition has plans to cash in on in the coming days. The narrative that the investigation is going on and NIA can come back to Sivasankar would give them a convenient logic to support their attack on the government.