Kerala CPM state secy Govindan sends Rs 1 crore defamation notice to Swapna Suresh

The notice sent to Suresh’s Bengaluru address said “the baseless allegations had maligned the reputation” of Govindan.

Last week, Suresh, in a Facebook live, had alleged that a middleman had approached her at the behest of Govindan and offered her Rs 30 crore to withdraw her allegations against Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and his family pertaining to the smuggling scandal. She had alleged that Govindan, intimated her through the middleman named Vijay Pillai, that she would face dire consequences and would even be done away with, if she didn’t budge on her allegations against Vijayan family.

Last year, Suresh had alleged that Vijayan had sent a bagful of currency to UAE in 2016. She had alleged huge vessels containing heavy metals had been taken to the Chief Minister’s official residence from the UAE Consulate in Thiruvananthapuram at the behest of his then principal secretary M Sivasankar, who had been involved in three cases related to the scandal. Suresh had even alleged that Vijayan’s wife Kamal and their daughter Veena were also involved in the scandal.

However, Vijayan has never reacted to the allegations nor resorted for a legal remedy against Suresh. He had always maintained an intriguing silence towards the allegations, despite the Opposition demand that Vijayan should speak out on the issue.

Other CPI(M) leaders, including former finance minister Thomas Isaac, former temple affairs minister Kadakampally Surendran, and former Assembly speaker P Sreeramakrishnan, had also remained silent when Suresh alleged that they sought sexual favours from her during the previous LDF regime between 2016 and 2021.

CPI(M) had allowed these leaders to individually sue Suresh, but none of them dared to take such a step. Suresh on her side had also dared these CPI(M) leaders to sue her and threatened to reveal evidence against them.

Govindan’s legal notice to Suresh had made louder the silence maintained by other CPI(M) leaders in the scandal. As an emerging power centre in the party, Govindan, who became the party state secretary last August, now sends a strong message to his colleagues that he would not seek the shield in the claim that Suresh lacked credibility; a refrain which CPI(M) had raised whenever she hurled allegations. It also goes in tune with Govindan’s stand that the party would not tolerate wrong tendencies and would go for a vigorous rectification drive.

Taking a dig at the silence of Vijayan, Congress state president K Sudhakaran said Vijayan should make Govindan a model. “Vijayan, who is acting deaf and dumb, should make the party state secretary [Govindan] a model; other CPI(M) leaders should also take legal action against Suresh, if her allegations were baseless,’’ he said.