THE utter falsity of the recent “revelations of Swapna” is obvious to anyone with common sense and needs no particular defence. Despite this, I am compelled to pen this note for the following reasons. A section of the press is celebrating Swapna’s concocted story for the past one week, projecting her ‘revelations’, as gospel truths. The Congress, Muslim League and BJP have unleashed violent protests lapping up the motivated media propaganda. It is possible that some gullible people could be misled by the orchestrated campaign unless the truth is told. Hence this statement of facts. 

THE MEDIA BLITZKRIEG

There is a long tradition in a section of the media to blindly attack the CPI(M) with no justification and evidence whatsoever, setting aside their obligation to tell the truth.  The present case is only a faithful replica of the most unjust and hateful campaign against the Party during the so-called “liberation struggle”. The attempt to link up the Party and the government with the gold smuggling scam operated through the Trivandrum airport, with the UAE Consulate as its epicentre, has to be understood against the context of a wilful misinformation campaign against the Party and LDF government.

It is surprising to see the media competing with one another to give wide publicity to the so-called revelations of a woman who was arrested and jailed as an accused by the central investigating agency in the gold smuggling scam. Has the new generation of journalists no responsibility to investigate whether the accused is dancing to the tunes of the central investigating agencies with their ulterior agenda to unsettle the LDF government?

Sasikumar, a doyen of the visual media in the country has made the following observations about the present status of the visual media in the state.  He raised the question as to whether the press conference of Swapna was part of a drama scripted by the media with meticulous planning and execution. Sasikumar added that the media often act out the role of puppets to prop up the agenda set by vested interests. This would lead to a credibility deficit regarding the media among the people which would ultimately ruin the industry.

PROTESTS BY CONGRESS, MUSLIM LEAGUE& BJP

The violent street protests by Congress, Muslim League and BJP reflect an unholy alliance among these parties against CPI(M). Together they raise the bogey of Swapna’s revelations which only bring out the narrowness and immaturity of their thought process. The opposition leaders who propagate the words of the accused in the gold smuggling case as gospel truth in Kerala are at war with one another in Delhi and some other states! The Congress would perhaps acknowledge the political affiliation of the central agencies now, as Rahul Gandhi is being interrogated by the enforcement directorate! The irony is that when BJP uses the same agency to spread canards against the chief minister of Kerala, they join hands with BJP.

Congress needs to be reminded of certain facts in this context. The major allegations submitted by the accused in her statement under 164 CrPC affidavit were raised before the central investigating agencies earlier as well. The agencies were convinced of the falsity of the allegations after conducting a thorough investigation. It should not be forgotten that the investigation was conducted by officers working at the behest of the central government. It is not unknown to Congress that the BJP government at the centre and its obsequiously loyal officers would use every opportunity to tarnish the image of the CPI(M) and other left democratic forces.

The investigating officers suspect that the money from smuggling could have been used for funding terrorist activities. It is now well-known that some accused are employed with HRDS, an agency of RSS. They are systematically used to tarnish the image of the chief minister. They repeat parrot-like the accusations levelled earlier adding some masala to the already available concoction. And they are rewarded with jobs, fat salaries and perks! The kingpin of the criminal group is now crying foul raising the bogey of threat to life and demanding police protection, that too from the central agencies only. It is easy to decode the script. Yet the Congress and BJP feign ignorance and express their shock at the ‘revelations’ and call upon their followers to join together to unleash a reign of terror. They pooh-pooh the unprecedented attack on the chief minister inside the plane by romanticising it as nothing more than a new form of protest in the skies.

 No doubt the opposition and the press have the democratic right to criticise the government. But the present vandalism is ill-advised and irresponsible, which makes a mockery of democratic processes. The attempt to convert the state into a battlefield of vested interests under a self-serving coalition of Congress, Muslim League and BJP will not be approved by the enlightened people of Kerala. Should we assume that the central leadership of the Congress, including A K Antony are unaware of these developments in Kerala?

DOES CONGRESS SUPPORT RSS SMOKESCREEN?

It was the chief minister, Pinarayi Vijayan who had written to the prime minister requesting any of the central agencies to investigate the smuggling scam. The allegations of the accused lady and her cohorts have been investigated fully by half a dozen central investigating agencies and they found no evidence to implicate the chief minister or anyone else in government. Do we need any further evidence to conclude that the accusations are prompted by vested interests? What did the RSS and the BJP leadership, notorious for their cunning strategies, do in this context? They have adopted the chief accused and her accomplices as their foster children.

The attempts being made by the RSS to malign Pinarayi Vijayan and his family members need to be condemned in no uncertain terms. The people of Kerala will not forgive the Congress or Muslim League if they do not desist from supporting BJP and the RSS. This is because the hands of the LDF government and CPI(M) are completely clean.

ISSUES NOT ENQUIRED INTO

Till now, there is no answer to important questions in the smuggling case. For whom was the gold smuggled? Who had dispatched it? The investigation teams have not approached them so far. The real culprits are at large enjoying their ill-gotten wealth. The agencies have not been permitted to approach them despite clinching evidence. A lot of goods are smuggled into the country through seaports and airports. A part of them is being used for funding anti-national groups. In addition, a good many gold merchants are sources of income for RSS.  A recent conference at Thiruvananthapuram where communal speeches were delivered was funded by a gold merchant. There is also another group of gold merchants who openly admit their allegiance to the RSS.  Is this what refrains central agencies from identifying the real culprits in the smuggling case?

The RSS connection of some of the accused was clear right from the beginning. Sandeep Nair, a key accused, is a close associate of BJP leader, Kummanam Rajasekharan. Before her arrest, Swapna Suresh had contacted Anil Nambiar of the Janam TV sponsored by the BJP, for seeking advice. Swapna Suresh has gone on record stating that Anil Nambiar had asked her to approach the consul general for issuing a statement to the effect that the gold was not confiscated from the diplomatic baggage. V Muraleedharan, the minister of state in the ministry of foreign affairs has repeatedly stated that the baggage was not confiscated from the diplomatic baggage. How come both Anil Nambiar and V Muraleedharan speak in the same voice?

The consul general and attaché who are at the centre of the controversy left the country before they could be interrogated. How could they escape unchallenged when it was pretty clear that gold smuggling was being done through diplomatic channels compromising national security and abetting terrorist activities? Who was the one who helped them leave the country with no questions asked or answered? They could not have left the country without the knowledge of the central government. The investigating agencies revealed that the third accused in the case is Faisal Fareed who acted as the kingpin of the conspiracy. Why was the attempt to get hold of Faisal Fareed stopped midway? Was it due to the fear that his arrest would lead to those who fund the RSS?

These are all very pertinent questions. The investigating agencies have no answers to these questions. The media has no curiosity to enquire on their own. The recent ‘revelations’ are aimed at keeping the real culprits in the dark. This absurd melodrama is being enacted by RSS by co-opting the chief accused Swapna Suresh with the connivance of Congress. As one wit has stated, the expansion of RSS is likely to be “Rashtriya Swapna Sangh”, at least in Kerala. The KPCC is also after Swapna's revelations. The absurd conviction of the RSS and the Congress that they would get away with this canard on the assumption that the Keralites have no common sense to see through this plot is only a daydream.