Speaker P Sreermakrishnan breaks silence, says he has never travelled with gold smuggling accused
BJP state president K Surendran had, during the first phase of the local body polls on December 8, alleged that the Speaker was the "powerful" person Swapna and Sarith, two of the prime accused in the gold smuggling case, had alluded to in their statements to the Customs.
BJP state president K Surendran had, during the first phase of the local body polls on December 8, alleged that the Speaker was the "powerful" person Swapna and Sarith, two of the prime accused in the gold smuggling case, had alluded to in their statements to the Customs.
BJP state president K Surendran had, during the first phase of the local body polls on December 8, alleged that the Speaker was the "powerful" person Swapna and Sarith, two of the prime accused in the gold smuggling case, had alluded to in their statements to the Customs.
A statement put out by Speaker P Sreeramamkrishnan's office termed the allegations levelled against the Speaker as "baseless and unbelievable". It said the Speaker had not travelled with any of the accused in the gold smuggling case and had not met them in foreign countries either.
BJP state president K Surendran had, during the first phase of the local body polls on December 8, alleged that the Speaker was the "powerful" person Swapna Suresh and P S Sarith, two of the prime accused in the gold smuggling case, had alluded to in their statements to the Customs. Allegedly, both had said that this “powerful” person was involved in dollar smuggling.
Surendran said the Speaker's foreign trips should be brought under the scanner.
The Speaker' Office expressed suspicion at the timing of the charges. “Such an interpretation (the involvement of the Speaker) has cropped up at a particular stage of a case that is being investigated by various central agencies for the last five months," the statement said. "This has got no basis in fact. The speculation aired through the media is false," the Speaker's Office said.
Further, it said the details of the Speaker's foreign trips were given earlier. "Most of these trips were forced to be undertaken after the relentless invitations made by various foreign organisations. Some trips were unavoidable as siblings (the Speaker's) were in foreign countries," the statement said.
All details regarding the foreign travels have already been published in the Speaker's Facebook page, it said. "More information can be had from the Speaker's Office itself," the statement said. It was also stated that the Embassy was also informed of the foreign travels.
"Not once had the Speaker travelled with any of the accused in the gold smuggling case or had he met them in foreign countries. Reports to the contrary are false. What we are witnessing is the mysterious origination of fake reports, which are then being lapped up by others. It is not right to drag a Constitutional office into political controversies," the statement said.
The Speaker' Office said that all procedures required by law were adhered to in the case of official trips. "Government money was used only for such official trips. As for the trips undertaken at the invite of cultural or other foreign organisations, the arrangements are made by them," the statement said.