IT is clear that the political and economic interests of the Congress, the BJP and a section of media have created a smokescreen and is trying to distract the investigation from the issue of gold smuggling. The basic and crucial questions are: who smuggled the gold, who did it for whom, for how long has it been happening, which are the forces that helped it, and who all benefited from it.

But this group is not keen to get into these questions. It is proven that they would go to any length to prevent the investigation from addressing these basic questions. It has become evident now that it was a BMS leader who made the first phone call when there was a delay in releasing the gold. The allegation by BJP state president K Surendran that the first call went from the chief minister office is to divert the attention from fact. The UDF is aiding the BJP in this.

The BJP and the Congress are trying to drag the government and the LDF into this. Swapna Suresh, who is an accused in the gold smuggling case, had previously worked at an organisation with links to Air India and the UAE Consulate. A project under a public limited company under IT department appointed her as a temporary contract employee based on her previous experience. As soon as she was found to be involved in the smuggling, the state government asked them to terminate her services. The secretary of the chief minister, an IAS officer who had been accused of having personal ties with her, was shifted. He was removed from the post of IT secretary also. Now he has gone on long leave.

Sandeep Nair, who is a key figure in the case, is a BJP activist and a close associate of their leadership. It has now become clear that another accused, Swapna Suresh was nominated by a senior Congress leader and MP to the Consulate and Air India SATS. There is a need to be constantly vigilant about interventions to sabotage the investigation. This is particularly important when 98 per cent of gold smuggled into India goes without being caught.

It is alleged that a section of the media is taking anti-LDF position in this case without any basis, because of their economic interest also apart from political reasons. The Congress-owned Jaihind channel has created a fake image to put the chief minister under suspicion. Footages of Sandeep, a BJP worker was edited by Asianet and Manorama channel to make him look like a CPI(M) supporter. Even after the lies have been caught, only one TV channel came forward with an apology. The Manorama newspaper was keen to protect the BMS leader by concealing his identity as a BJP trade union leader and referring him to only as a trade union leader. All these show that a section of the media, the Congress and the BJP are trying to rescue the gold smugglers and defame the Left. This is a challenge for the country. We urge people to recognise all this and resist the planned attempt to sabotage the case. Each passing day shows that they are attempting to reap political gains from the gold smuggling case and have a lot to hide.