Swapna Suresh effect: 2 top Kerala CPI-M leaders caught between sons

Thiruvananthapuram: No matter how hard Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan tries to maintain that his party has nothing to do with Swapna Suresh, the prime accused in the recent gold smuggling case, things are heating up in the state CPI-M, after the sons of two of the top party leaders appeared to engage in 'mudslinging'.

And things appear to have reached a stage when the No. 2 man in the Vijayan cabinet, Industries Minister E.P. Jayarajan, is getting ready to approach the party high command against Bineesh Kodiyeri, son of state CPI-M Secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan.

In all likelihood, the matter is expected to figure in the upcoming party meeting .

The reason why Jayarajan is fuming is that soon after Bineesh was interrogated by the Enforcement Directorate ( ED) last week for over 10 hours, a picture of Jayarajan's son Jaison standing with Swapna surfaced, making tongues wag that Jaison would be the next to be summoned by the ED.

Incidentally, the picture is believed to have been taken in 2018 at a party planned by Bineesh for Jaison to thank Swapna Suresh for her help to get his (Jaison's) passport cleared in the UAE after some issues surfaced with it.

There were just seven people in that party, including Bineesh, Swapna and Jaison.

Jayarajan and his family believe that this was done by Bineesh.

Jayarajan was ousted from the state cabinet in 2016 following allegations of nepotism, but he returned the very next year after the court cleared him. However, since then, his relation with Kodiyeri Balakrishnan has not been warm.

Vijayan has been under pressure ever since the gold smuggling case surfaced, as the first head to roll was M. Sivasankar, the CM's Principal Secretary, who was also the state IT Secretary. Sivasankar was first removed from both the posts befre being suspended for his closeness to Swapna Suresh.

Things turned worse when state Higher Education Minister K.T. Jaleel was questioned by the ED in connection with the gold smuggling case, and also for accepting sponsorship from the UAE Consulate here worth Rs 5 lakh.

The matters worsened further after Leader of Opposition Ramesh Chennithala on Wednesday revealed that he knew a second CPI-M minister who had links with Swapna, but he won't reveal the name at the moment.

He has also written an open letter to Vijayan asking him to explain and not blow his top when questions are raised.