The CM is under pressure to remove the IT secretary M Sivasankar, who has connection with the suspects of the diplomatic baggage gold smuggling. Sources close to him have suggested that the chief minister is planning to remove Sivashankar from the post of secretary and exclude him from the IT department until he is found innocent. Pinarayi Vijayan is furious over the allegations being made to the Chief Minister’s office.
As the probe into the gold smuggling intensifies, the possibility of interrogating the Chief Minister’s Secretary M Sivashankar by the customs cannot be ruled out. If Shivshankar is questioned while sitting as the chief minister’s secretary/IT secretary, the chief minister’s office too involve in the issue.
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has communicated with the CPM leadership about the issue. If all the allegations so far have been made by the opposition, the chief minister’s office and the chief minister are tired of hearing the gold smuggling. The Opposition has accused some high-ranking officials of the Chief Minister’s Office of meddling in the gold smuggling case. Pinarayi Vijayan is of the view that anyone involved in his office will not be protected in the case of gold smuggling.