Arrest in Life Mission case: In Kerala, Oppn leaders take on CM, call for probe into Pinarayi ‘role’

State Congress president K Sudhakaran said the arrest shows that scandals of the previous government under Vijayan are “coming out one after another”. He said, “Everyone knows Sivasankar is Vijayan’s conscience-keeper and knows many secrets pertaining to Vijayan.”

Senior BJP leader from the state and Union Minister of State for External Affairs V Muraleedharan tweeted, “CM had tried to cease files related to these issues so nothing has come out. Now since the principal secretary has been arrested, CM has no right to continue in power and he must resign.”

P M A Salam, general secretary of Indian Union Muslim League, a part of Congress-led UDF, claimed that Sivasankar’s arrest has brought Vijayan under the shadow of suspicion. “If the probe is on the right track, it would bring out the role of the CM. It was revealed that Rs 4.48 crore had gone as kickback in the Life Mission project to win the construction contract. It should be probed…” he said.

The housing scam emerged as a sequel to the smuggling of gold through the diplomatic baggage to the UAE consulate here in 2020.

Swapna Suresh, key accused in the gold smuggling case, also said the ED should question C M Raveendran, Additional Private Secretary to the Chief Minister, in connection with the Life Mission scam.

Suresh, who had earlier alleged that Sivasankar had taken a bribe in the housing project, told the media that the ED is on the right track. “Many sharks in the case are still out. The ED should question C M Raveendran to bring out prominent figures in the case. It should be exposed who all have benefited from this deal,’’ she said.