Opposition parties in Kerala took to the street on Wednesday, accusing the government of having attempted to set fire to the Secretariat to erase incriminating evidence of the “role” of the office of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan in “abetting” the illegal import of gold via air freight addressed to the UAE Consulate here.
The Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) workers disregarded COVID-19 protocol, marched to the Secretariat, and attempted to topple the police barricades in front of the gate.
Law enforcers turned pressurised water jets on the protesters. They swung batons and lobbed tear gas shells to disperse the demonstrators. Several persons sustained minor injuries in the mele.
The Secretariat and neighbourhood resembled a strife zone. Iron barricades and police officers in riot gear protected the gates. The central part of the capital was cut-off to vehicles and pedestrians for the better part of the day. The police diverted State-owned cars away from the path of the protesters.
Cabinet frowns on security breach
Police use tear gas shells to disperse Yuvamorcha activists at Secretariat, in Thiruvananthapuram on Wednesday.
Inside, Mr. Vijayan chaired a protracted Cabinet meeting, which reportedly took stock of the post-fire political situation in the State.
By one account, the Cabinet expressed dismay that the police and security officers at the Secretariat had not protected Chief Secretary Vishwas Mehta “for close to 30 minutes” when he ventured out of the office to persuade protesters to quit the premises. The Cabinet commended Mr. Mehta for trying to pacify the protesters who trespassed on the Secretariat grounds.
Fire safety risk
A senior official said the Cabinet stressed the need to improve the perimeter security of the building.
It also called for higher vetting of staff and visitors. The council also assessed the fire safety of the Secretariat.
The Fire and Rescue Department had earlier found the 19th-century vintage Secretariat building a fire risk. It had also found that most of the fire hydrants around the sprawling edifice were defunct.
‘Files intact’
The meeting also reportedly noted that it had given the files and video footage sought by the NIA. The records lost in the fire were those pertaining to the booking of rooms in Government guest houses via the General Administration Department (GAD). The files had back-ups on the computer. Government files were almost entirely digitised. The Congress and the BJP had raked up a conspiracy theory to discredit the government, the Cabinet reportedly felt. It also stressed the need to counter the propaganda politically.
‘Black day’
The Congress and the BJP were observing “black day” and “protest day” across the State. They had organised street protests in Kannur, Kochi, and Kollam. The Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI) had also joined the fray by organising anti-government demonstrations across the State.
Speaking at a UDF protest here, Leader of the Opposition Ramesh Chennithala charged that the fire was an “act of sabotage”.
It had consumed records relating to foreign trips of Ministers and bureaucrats, their interactions with foreign entities, classified political files and granting of VIP status to persons. The fire had occurred soon after office-hours.
The “saboteurs” were Secretariat insiders owing allegiance to the Communist Party of India (Marxist). They had destroyed the records to hide the role of the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) in the UAE Consulate linked gold smuggling case.
The National Investigation Agency (NIA), the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and the Customs had sought several files from GAD to probe whether the CMO had abetted the smuggling operation.
The agencies had questioned Mr. Vijayan’s former Principal Secretary M. Sivasankar several times. The government had stonewalled efforts by the agencies to procure surveillance video footage of the comings and goings at the CMO, citing it was destroyed in “thunder in the peak of summer”, he said. Mr. Chennithala said the NIA should investigate the blaze.
BJP State president K. Surendran said the sabotage was “pre-scripted by the government”. As a precursor of the subversion, the government procured a certificate from safety auditors that the Secretariat was a fire-risk.
CPI (M) reacts to charges
The CPI(M) has rallied in support of Mr. Vijayan. In a statement here, CPI(M) State Secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan accused the Congress and the BJP of having attempted sabotage in the government Secretariat.
The leaders of both the parties had trespassed on the Secretariat on Tuesday evening in an attempt to unleash anarchy. Mr. Balakrishnan said Mr. Surendran and Mr. Chennithala arrived on the scene minutes after the fire broke. They seemed to have a premonition of the fire. Mr. Balakrishnan said their role in the blaze appeared extremely suspicious and warranted an enquiry. Left Democratic Front convener A. Vijayaraghavan is scheduled to hold a press conference soon against the anti-government protests.
Published - August 26, 2020 03:21 pm IST
