Unbecoming of ED to produce 'nonsense' as statement, says Kerala Speaker

Kerala Assembly Speaker P Sreeramakrishnan on Monday targetted the Enforcement Directorate (ED) over the document the agency had submitted in Kerala High Court earlier in connection with the gold smuggling case and said it is unbecoming of a central agency to register any "nonsense" in the form of a "statement".

According to a document submitted by the ED in the Kerala High Court, Swapna Suresh, one of the accused in the gold smuggling case, revealed that Sreeramakrishnan used to call her to his flat for some "personal dirty intentions".

Reacting to it, Sreeramakrishnan, in a Facebook post, said: "It is not becoming of a democratic country that its investigative agencies lower their level to such a way that any nonsense can be written in the form of a "statement"."

"It is not acceptable to make "statements" against the government, the Chief Minister, and the Speaker to divert attention when the allegations reach them. It will be confronted in all manner," he added.

In her affidavit, Swapna said: "Sreeramakrishnan had called me to the flat in Marutham apartment and told me that it was his hideout. I went there along with Sarith (another accused in the gold smuggling case) to meet him. He told me about the flat's real ownership to convince me to feel safe as he used to call me there with some personal dirty intentions."

"As I didn't agree to his personal interests, the role offered to me in the Middle East College was also dropped. He always kept trying to get close to her as he needed the help of consul-general for his personal affairs in the UAE," she further alleged.

Swapna had given this statement before the ED Deputy Director, Kochi, on December 16, 2020, at Women's Jail in Attakulangara, Thiruvananthapuram.

In his Facebook post, Sreeramakrishnan further accused that the central agencies and the Opposition of "working day and night" to attack the Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board (KIIFB) and Livelihood Inclusion and Financial Empowerment (LIFE) projects that have revolutionised Kerala's society for their own electoral benefits.

"No one should dream that such nefarious efforts can erode the support of the people for the government and the people's representatives who have supported them in their crisis by providing shelter and security," he further said.

The Speaker added that there is no doubt there will be a barrage of lies in the run-up to the elections as the Opposition has no recognition in Kerala in any way.

State assembly elections for the 140-member Kerala will be held in a single phase on April 6. The counting of votes will take place on May 2.

( With inputs from ANI )