Kerala CM Blames Customs for Gold Smuggling

Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala Chief Minister on Thursday accused the Customs Department of being lax in curbing gold smuggling in the state and has requested the Governor to take up the issue with the Centre.

In his reply to the letter written by the Governor, the Chief Minister stated that the unchecked arrival of gold at airports is a result of the Customs Department's negligence, not the state government's. He urged the Governor to discuss the matter of duty-evaded gold entering through airports with the relevant Union Ministry concerned.

The response is widely viewed as a counter to the Governor's recent criticism of the Chief Minister regarding Malappuram gold smuggling issue. Essentially, the chief minister has accused the Central Government for the lapse.

The Governor questioned the Chief Minister's assertion that it was the central government's responsibility to check gold smuggling. In that case, why didn't the chief minister inform him about the matter earlier?

He emphasised that such acts are crimes against the nation, not merely against Kerala. "I have to report this to the President because the government has completely kept me in the dark about this issue," he said.

The governor said he was duty-bound to inform the President about gold smuggling linked to anti-national activities in Malappuram district. The chief minister spoke about the gold smuggling in Malappuram in an interview with the national daily and also at a press conference on September 21, he said.

Earlier, the Chief Minister had refused to comply with the Governor's directive asking the chief secretary and DGP to appear before the Raj Bhavan.

Meanwhile, the Kerala Police has refuted media reports that quoted the Governor as saying that information on the police website indicated that proceeds from gold smuggling were being used to fund banned terror outfits.

"The official website of the Kerala Police has never carried any such statement at any point in time. It has only published statistical details of the seizure of gold and currency with period-wise details," the state police media center said in a statement.

The ruling CPM criticized Arif Mohammad Khan for adopting an anti-Kerala stance on the matter, deeming the Governor's intervention as unnecessary.