THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Tuesday explained that his meeting with the ruler of Sharjah at Cliff House was an official one. The meeting between the CM and the Sharjah ruler took place at 10.30 am on 24th September 2017.

The Chief Minister said that the meeting was of an official nature and no permission from the Centre was required. He explained in his written reply to the Assembly that the representative of the Ministry of External Affairs was also present at the meeting. The Chief Minister gave the explanation in reply to the questions of Mathew Kuzhalnadan and Saneesh Kumar Joseph. The Chief Minister also stated that he had a meeting with the UAE Consul General at Cliff House.

Earlier, Swapna Suresh, the prime accused in the gold smuggling case, had accused Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan of violating protocol during the visit of Sharjah’s ruler to the state in 2017. Swapna claimed that neither the Union Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) nor the UAE Consulate knew about the change in the itinerary of the visiting dignitary from Kozhikode to the state capital.