THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Former Chief Minister Oommen Chandy on Friday said that the allegation against Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan in the dollar smuggling case was serious and urgent action should be taken. Oommen Chandy said that the affidavit filed by Customs contained allegations that had never been heard before.

Oommen Chandy also expressed doubts as to how a statement under 1164 did not come out for so many days. He said that the statement came out after two months and asked why no action had been taken for so long. The former CM sought further actions in the case, including registering an FIR. He also asked why there was no response to such a serious allegation.

According to Swapna Suresh's confidential statement under section 164, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and Speaker P. Sreeramakrishnan were directly involved in the dollar smuggling case. She stated that the Chief Minister had close ties with the Consulate General of the UAE, who is being investigated for gold smuggling. She said that she had acted as an intermediary between the Consulate General and the Speaker. She also revealed that three other cabinet ministers were also involved in the illegal activities.