KC Venugopal alleges mystery behind ED summons to Kerala CM's son; questions Pinarayi's 'secret' meetings with Union Ministers

Kozhikode (Kerala) [India], October 11 (ANI): AICC General Secretary and MP K.C. Venugopal on Saturday alleged that there is a mystery surrounding the withholding of information about the ED summons issued to Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan's son, Vivek Kiran, in 2023 in connection with the LIFE Mission money-laundering case
Speaking to ANI, Venugopal alleged that the breakfast meeting between Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and a Union Minister at Kerala House in New Delhi, which he said violated official protocol, and the Chief Minister's private visits to Union Ministers' residences without the presence of officials, raised serious questions.
"If we read all these developments together, it is clear that something is rotten in Denmark. The Chief Minister has the responsibility to clarify what's going on," Venugopal said.
Though the ED issued a notice to Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan's son, the agency did not interrogate him.
KC Venugopal also targeted the Left government in the State over the Sabarimala gold "theft" row.
He demanded that a court-monitored Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) could expose the "real" miscreants involved in the incident. The Congress MP mentioned that the issue came to light following the intervention of the Kerala High Court.
"Sabarimala is a sacred temple for everyone in India. The incident reported from Sabarimala is painful for all of us. It is a clear indication that the government of Kerala and the Devaswom Board are trying to hide the incident. Only after the intervention of the Kerala High Court was this issue brought to light. Only a CBI enquiry under the supervision of the court can reveal the real culprits," Venugopal told ANI.
After the Kerala High Court directed the Special Investigation Team (SIT) to investigate the alleged Sabarimala gold theft incident, Devaswom Board Minister VN Vasavan said that a vigilance inquiry has found lapses at the official level and the government has faith in the judiciary."Everyone responsible for this incident must be exposed, and no culprit should escape justice. The government has full faith in the judiciary. What has taken place is nothing short of theft, and there can be no justification for it," Vasavan told reporters.
The court has directed that the investigation be completed and a report submitted within six weeks. The court said that the investigation should be kept strictly confidential. No information related to the investigation should be leaked. The division bench of the High Court has also directed, in an interim order, that the special investigation team submit a sealed cover directly to the court.
The court directed that the special investigation team should only inform the court about the investigation. The investigation information should not be disclosed to anyone else.
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader V. Muraleedharan earlier launched a scathing attack on the Kerala government, stating that the state administration was betraying the trust of devotees and demanding the immediate dismissal of the Devaswom Minister, along with the dissolution of the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB). (ANI)