Thiruvananthapuram: Has someone faked the signature of Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan in his absence? BJP spokesperson Sandeep Warrier produced evidence on Thursday to show that this had happened. The chief minister, however, categorically rejected the charge at his press conference later in the day.
At a press briefing in Thiruvananthapuram on Thursday, Warrier held up a file dated September 9, 2018, on which the chief minister's signature is seen. It is a routine file related to Malayalam Language Day celebrations.
Warrier said this was strange as the chief minister was in America for treatment at that point. The chief minister had left for America on September 2, 2018, and came back by the end of the month on September 23. "It was not a digital signature either," Warrier said and added rhetorically: "Was it Sivasankar or Swapna who faked he chief minister's signature? Has the party deputed anyone to fake the chief minister's signature?"
He said Kerala was not ruled by Pinarayi Vijayan but by an impostor. Warrier used the Malayalam word for fake (vyajan) that rhymed with Vijayan to drive home his point.
Hinting at something deeper, Warrier also said it was after such a signature that M V Jayarajan was removed from the Chief Minister's Office.
Right after Warrier made the charge, BJP state president K Surendran said the Chief Minister should reveal who faked his signature.
The BJP also wanted all the files that had left the Chief Minister's Office to be brought under scrutiny.
Warrier said former chief ministers had a system in place to clear files in their absence. During K Karunakaran's tenure, for instance, the chief secretary had signed for the chief minister jotting "with the knowledge of the chief minister'' under the signature.
Signed 39 files: CM
Pinarayi Vijayan on Thursday said it was he himself and not an impostor who had signed the file related to Malayalam Language Day observance. He said that on September 6, 2018, as many as 39 files were sent to him. "It was not just the Malayalam Language Day file that I had signed on thatday," he said. The CM said that the e-office system had come into being from August 24, 2013.
The CM said he had been using the e-office facility whenever he was away from his office.
