‘Swapna said Vijayan met UAE envoy’, CMO denies

KOCHI: In a purported statement to the ED in the Kerala gold smuggling case, prime accused Swapna Suresh has accused CM Pinarayi Vijayan of having multiple “private meetings” with the consul general of the UAE in 2017 and “unofficially” recommending his suspended former principal secretary M Sivasankar as the state government’s official point of contact with that country’s consulate.
Swapna has been quoted as saying in the unconfirmed statement that all the alleged private meetings between Vijayan and the foreign diplomat took place at the CM’s official residence in Thiruvananthapuram.
Terming the “leaked” statement of Swapna “a fabricated one”, the CM’s office said, “All these are well-calculated campaigns against the government”.
Sivasankar, who was allegedly instrumental in getting Swapna a job at the state-owned SpacePark in Thiruvananthapuram, has been interrogated several times by the NIA, Customs and ED over his alleged links with the main accused in the case.
CM Vijayan has consistently denied knowing Swapna. LDF convener A Vijayaraghavan rubbished her allegations on Sunday. “There is nothing wrong in the secretary of the UAE consul general meeting the principal secretary of the CM or the CM himself. They might have met for official purposes. We cannot go behind the statement given by someone to ED. How do you know the statement is an official one?” he said.