THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The fire in the secretariat is based on a clear script and plan, alleged BJP state chief K Surendran. The circular issued by the Public Administration Department last month to prevent fire in the Secretariat is proof of this and the circular says that precautionary measures should be taken to prevent fire, Surendran said while addressing a press meet in the capital city.

Surendran said, “Some employees of the protocol office in the secretariat tested positive in an antigen test conducted the other day. It is doubtful that this is also part of the script.

The additional secretary said that important files were not destroyed soon after the fire was doused. On what basis is this? Only pro-CPM leaders were there when the fire broke out. How did they reach there? The government is deliberately destroying vital evidences in the gold smuggling case. The chief minister who reached Sandeepanandagiri Ashram in Thiruvananthapuram when a fire broke out there failed to reach the Secretariat. Surendran said the BJP is seeking a probe by the NIA in the fire incident also.

Although the chief secretary is an IAS officer, he is actually the caretaker of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan’s shoe, he said.

Meantime, widespread protests are being staged in the state in connection with the fire in the secretariat. Police resorted to lathicharge towards BJP activists in Kannur. Many were injured in the melee. Police used tear gas and water cannons to disperse the protestors in front of the secretariat in the capital city.