Minister of State for Finance and Corporate Affairs Anurag Thakur on Sunday said the Enforcement Directorate (ED) would pursue all legal measures to ensure that the State government’s tactics did not derail the probe in the diplomatic baggage gold smuggling case.
He said the Crime Branch case against the ED reflected the Left Democratic Front government’s growing anxiety with the probe closing in on racketeers.
Interacting with mediapersons here during his visit to the State to campaign for candidates of the National Democratic Alliance in the Assembly polls, Mr. Thakur said the ED’s probe into the gold smuggling racket had been troubling Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan.
“As the head of the State, he should be open to a free and fair probe if has nothing to hide. He has instead been shying away from investigation. The law will take its own course and the ED is entitled to approach the right platform (to fight the case),” he said.
He claimed the Left Democratic Front rule had resulted in “brain drain and brain washing”, with a large number of unemployed youth forced to leave the country in search of jobs. “Competent youths have been finding it increasingly difficult to gain employment, even while undeserving people are finding job opportunities,” he said.
Mr. Thakur said the government had also provided a safe refuge for radical groups that had been using the State as a launch pad for extremist activities in the country.
Citing the controversy over entry of women to Sabarimala, Mr. Thakur accused the State government of attempting to destroy faith and tradition to promote its vested interests.
He also claimed that Kerala benefited far greater under the NDA regime than during the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) rule from 2009-14.
While tax devolution stood at ₹29,841 crore during the UPA’s term, the State received ₹71,713 crore during 2014-19. Similarly, grant-in-aid grew from ₹15,297 crore to ₹44,856 crore and the Finance Commission’s grant from ₹602 crore to ₹18,000 crore.
