Thiruvananthapuram (Kerala) [India], October 12 (ANI): Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan hit back to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan over his remarks on gold smuggling and accused the CM of keeping him in dark.

"If I come to know that certain activities which are prejudicial to the security and integrity of the country are going on- Is it my duty to report to the president or not? And when the source of this information is the chief minister himself then is it not proper on my part to write to him and ask him why he has not shared this information with me and why he has kept me in dark and provided all the information? Now he is saying that he has never said there is any anti-national activity," Governor Khan told the media, "

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"He says there was absolutely no mention of anti-national or anti-state activities going on in any public statement made by him, I am ready to believe him. But in the same letter, he says gold smuggling is an activity which jeopardizes the national economy and also is one of the causes of tax leakage. He says that he made a general statement in the press briefing that the said activities are crimes against the nation," Kerala Governor said.

On Monday, Governor Arif Muhammad Khan summoned the Chief Secretary and DGP to Raj Bhavan for direct explanations on Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan's remarks regarding gold smuggling in Malappuram and those funds being used for anti-State and anti-national activities and on phone tapping allegations by MLA, PV Anwar

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Afterward, the Chief Minister issued a letter to the Rajbhavan stating that summoning officials without informing the elected government is beyond the constitutional authority of the Governor.

On September 30, a media report emerged that attributed remarks to Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan concerning gold smuggling in the Malappuram district. The Chief Minister's office later issued a clarification, stating that the quotes had been wrongly attributed to him.

The Communist Party of India's (Marxist) state secretary, M V Govindan, stated on Friday that the media is spreading "false narratives" regarding the issue.

"The publication itself expressed regret, and the issue should have ended there. However, a narrative was created claiming that the government has a PR agency. The fact is that the government has no such PR system in place. Despite the Chief Minister's clarification, some media outlets continue to cast doubt and spread false narratives. Even the Chief Minister's smile is criticised; whether he smiles or not, he faces criticism," M V Govindan, CPI [M] Kerala secretary had said in a press conference.

The Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF), however, slammed the Chief Minister, saying that he had portrayed the Malappuram district, where the Muslim community constitutes a majority, in a poor light. (ANI)

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