An inquiry by the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) has found no substance in a private complaint that the Union Minister of State for External Affairs V. Muraleedharan had violated protocol by including a public relations professional as an official delegate in the meeting of Ministers representing the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) Council in Abu Dhabi last year.
The petitioner, Saleem Madavoor, had requested the PMO to conduct an inquiry, seeking to know on what ground Mr. Muraleedharan had included the woman on the list of official invitees to the international meeting.
BJP’s version
BJP leader S. Suresh published the PMO’s finding on his FB account. He said an embassy-level investigation in the UAE had called the ‘Communist Party of India (Marxist)’s [CPI(M)] bluff to discredit the Minister.’
The BJP had felt that Mr. Madavoor had tried to draw an equivalency between Mr. Muraleedharan and Higher Education Minister K.T. Jaleel. The Minister had come under suspicion of protocol violation by receiving aid in the form of food packets and Koran from the UAE consulate here. Dr. Jaleel had termed the ‘Ramzan charity’ a religious and cultural transaction and not a largesse from a foreign potentate as alleged by the BJP.
The PMO’s decision to close the case against Mr. Muraleedharan had set the matter to rest, the BJP said. It had also scotched a bid by the CPI(M) to divert public attention from the government’s alleged links with economic offenders and gold smugglers.
To petition CVC
However, Mr. Madavoor has sworn to pursue the matter further and petition the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) against Mr. Muraleedharan. The PR professional, who is also an office-bearer of the Mahila Morcha, had said she had attended the meeting on her volition and at her expense. She had not participated as a State guest as alleged by the complainant.
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