Thiruvananthapuram: Industries Minister EP Jayarajan has defended the decision of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan in sending a letter to the Union government urging them to intervene the release of BDJS leader Thushar Vellappally. Mr Thushar was arrested in UAE in a cheque bounce case.
Mr Jayarajan said that Mr Thushar was not like any ordinary person who gets arrested in Gulf countries. “There is something fishy about his arrest. We cannot equate him with people who are in Gulf jails,” he said.
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan's request to the Centre to help the NDA leader, held by police in UAE in a cheating case, had earlier triggered a political row.
Opposition Leader Ramesh Chennithala, while commenting on the issue, said the Chief Minister should show similar consideration to all Keralites jailed in Gulf countries.
Soon after news of the arrest of Thushar in the UAE came out, Mr Vijayan wrote to external affairs minister S. Jayashankar seeking all possible help within the limits of law to be made available to him.
While Mr Natesan had openly backed the LDF in the elections, the BDJS which Mr Thushar heads was an ally of the BJP-led NDA in the state.
