Thiruvananthapuram, August 3: Demanding the immediate arrest of the Kerala Chief Minister over the gold smuggling case, Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president Mullapally Ramachandran on Monday urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to come forward and speak on the matter.

KPCC President, along with other party office bearers, is observing a one-day 'Satyagraha'at the KPCC office. Speaking to ANI, Ramachandran said, "General Secretary of BJP Muralidhar Rao came out with a startling revelation while inaugurating Minister of State for External Affairs V Muraleedharan's hunger strike yesterday that Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has strong links in the gold smuggling case." Kerala Gold Smuggling Case: Sarith PS Sent to Judicial Custody Till August 21.

"It is not a mere statement by a politician. General secretary Muralidhar Rao originates from RSS and is very close to Prime Minister of the country and all the closer to Amit Shah, the Home Minister of the country," Ramachandran said adding, "Therefore, the government led by Narendra Modi should come out in open and say that the connection is correct."

"That being the case, the Chief Minister of Kerala is to be arrested immediately and he should be taken for interrogation so that further information regarding the smuggling case can be revealed," he added.

He further said, "Otherwise, people will think that this is another drama by the BJP which has been enacted by them for a long time. We have been telling right from the beginning that there is a clandestine understanding between the BJP and the CPM in the state of Kerala."

According to him, the BJP is looking for a foothold in Kerala in the coming Assembly election. "In the upcoming Assembly election, they (BJP) want to have a foothold in Kerala. They tried hard to have it but unfortunately, they could not succeed in their effort. So this is their last opportunity to have an understanding," Ramachandran said.

Urging the Prime Minister, Ramachandran said, "I again request the country's Prime Minister to come out in open and say about the close links of Kerala Chief Minister in gold smuggling case and arrest him immediately." Otherwise, it is going to be another fault on the part of the BJP, he added.