00:00Politics that is being played over former Kerala Chief Secretary's big charge.
00:05Gigi Thompson has said that Gyanesh Kumar had asked him to fight for the BJP.
00:10Gigi Thompson has also said that he was advised BJP role post-retirement.
00:16He's added that he advised, he was advised to become a BJP MP,
00:21saying that Gyanesh Kumar had advised me to fight the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.
00:27This is the former Kerala Chief Secretary, who's now created a storm with this remark,
00:32saying that he had rejected Gyanesh Kumar's advice.
00:35The Kerala Congress has also posted this, saying big revelation on Gyanesh Kumar.
00:41Former Kerala Chief Secretary Gigi Thompson has said Gyanesh Kumar approached him
00:45and asked him to contest on a BJP ticket, even offering a ministerial position.
00:50Who was Gyanesh Kumar to make such an offer?
00:52On whose authority was he speaking?
00:55And why was the election commissioner allegedly involved in political recruitment for the BJP back in 2016?
01:02Let me take this to my colleague Shibhimol K.G., who's joining us on the broadcast.
01:06Shibhimol, do take us through the inside details and the veracity of this statement
01:09that is being quoted by the Congress.
01:11They say former Kerala Chief Secretary Gigi Thompson had been approached by Gyanesh Kumar
01:18to say that he must contest on a BJP ticket.
01:23Well, that's right.
01:24In fact, what Gigi Thompson is saying is that in 2016, when he was approaching his retirement,
01:29he was on a flight with Gyanesh Kumar, and that's when Gyanesh Kumar inquired about his post-retirement plan.
01:35So, when Gigi Thompson replied that there's no major plans as of now,
01:40Gyanesh Kumar suggested contesting for BJP in 2019 for the Lok Sabha election,
01:45becoming an MP and then becoming a minister.
01:47So, you must take a political route as the suggestion that was put forward
01:51that Gyanesh Kumar is what Gigi Thompson says.
01:54He says he denied it, saying that, you know, I don't have any plans to contest elections.
01:59And that's, so, that ended there is what Gigi Thompson says.
02:03But right now, amid all the controversy, we are seeing the former Chief Secretary of Kerala
02:08coming out and saying that, you know, I was approached, I was given a suggestion like this
02:12and I feel maybe he made that suggestion because there are many IAS officers here with political ambitions.
02:17So, maybe it's as part of it that he suggested this.
02:20But that conversation ended there is what he says.
02:23But considering that it was coming out amid this impact that he was also at government service back then
02:29is what, it's raising questions at this point with the Congress now taking over that charge,
02:35saying that this has been ongoing for a very long time.
02:39Gyanesh Kumar has allegedly been working for the, and trying to recruit for the ruling party here.
02:45We want to thank you for getting us those details.
