Kerala govt responds after RTI says ‘spy' Jyoti Malhotra visited as part of tourism campaign
'Jyoti Malhotra was invited by the designated agency well before any case against her surfaced, and the Kerala government had no role in selecting influencers,' said Mohammed Riyas told reporters.
Mohammed Riyas made the statement in response to allegations that Jyoti Malhotra, who has been arrested on espionage charges, was invited to promote tourism in the state.
Some Bharatiya Janata Party leaders, including spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla, had cited an RTI reply to claim that Jyoti Malhotra had visited Kerala on an invite of the state government.
"So Bharat Mata is blocked and Pak spies are given red carpet by the Left," Poonawalla had said.
On Monday, the Communist Party of India (CPI) strongly condemned the alegations.
"The Communist Party of India strongly condemns the BJP's attempt to drag the Kerala government into the Jyoti Malhotra espionage case to cover up its own grave failures on national security," CPI MP P Sandosh Kumar said in a statement.
Kumar said it was outrageous to suggest that a state government was responsible for a YouTuber's travel to Pakistan when passport issuance, visa clearance, and intelligence monitoring are all under the control of the Union government.
"Did the Kerala government approve her visits to Pakistan? Did it place her in contact with ISI handlers in Delhi? This is a desperate and politically motivated deflection," Kumar said.
He also alleged that the BJP had a long list of embarrassments involving its members linked to "espionage and terrorism."
National security is a central subject, and the BJP, which governs the Centre, cannot wash its hands of "repeated intelligence lapses and the growing list of individuals with links to espionage and terror from within its fold," the CPI leader said.
"The people of India deserve accountability, not scapegoating and political vendetta," he added.
Reports have quoted an RTI response saying Malhotra was among those invited by the Kerala government to a state-run influencer collaboration programme.
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