Minor fire at Secretariat sparks off major controversy in Kerala

A minor fire at the Kerala Government Secretariat on Tuesday has set off a major conflagration in the State’s surcharged political landscape, agog already with peals of bells for polls to local bodies later this year and the State Assembly into the next with the searing gold smuggling controversy raging in the background.

None was injured in the fire incident thought to have been sparked by an electrical short-circuit in a computer harness. But initial reports suggested ‘substantial’ loss of official records, though described as not critical nature. Even if assuming that some are destroyed, the system has a backup from e-filing, official sources said.

P Honey, Additional Secretary, General Administration Department that bore the brunt of the fire, said a few files relating to the requests for rooms in government guest houses had been damaged. A probe has been announced into the incident. Industries Minister EP Jayarajan accused the Opposition of attempting to unleash violence at the Secretariat.

BJP President arrested

Earlier on Tuesday, the Opposition Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) and the BJP were prompt to describe the incident as an act of sabotage to wipe out crucial evidence/papers relating to the gold smuggling case. Ramesh Chennithala, Leader of Opposition, visited the spot on Tuesday night, and said that the fire had destroyed three sections.

The incident also set off some drama at the Secretariat on Tuesday with the police arresting BJP workers, including State president K Surendran, who had charged into highly secured compound. Officers rounded up him and top leaders and led them away to a police van, the bustle causing even Chief Secretary Vishwas Mehta to emerge out to keep protesters at bay.

Chennithala drove to the Raj Bhavan and met Governor Arif Mohammedn Khan and apprised him of the situation at the Secretariat. He later told newspersons that he would give a detailed memorandum to the Governor in the latter's capacity as the Head of the State Administration. This is a serious attempt to derail the probe into the sensational gold smuggling case.

Chennithala meets Governor

Breaking out soon after office hours, the fire had consumed records relating to foreign trips of Ministers and bureaucrats, their interactions with foreign entities, classified political files and granting of VIP status to persons. He alleged that the ‘saboteurs’ had sought to hide the role of the office of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan in the UAE Consulate-linked gold smuggling case.

The National Investigation Agency, the Enforcement Directorate, and the Customs had sought several files from the General Administration Department to probe whether the Chief Minister’s Office had abetted the smuggling operation. The agencies had also questioned Vijayan's former Principal Secretary M Sivasankar several times.

The government, Chennithala alleged, had already stonewalled efforts by the agencies to procure surveillance video footage of the visits of the accused persons at the CMO citing it was destroyed by thunderstorms. The NIA should investigate the blaze. The UDF would observe a black day on Wednesday to protest the act of ‘subversion.’

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