Thiruvananthapuram | Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Thursday said neither he nor the government has hired any firm for his recent interview with a media house.

His response came in the wake of attack from the opposition over the alleged use of PR agencies to arrange his interviews.

He stated his recent media interview was conducted based on a request from a former CPI(M) MLA's son.

"Neither me nor the government have hired any PR agency to arrange for an interview. I agreed to the interview based on a request from former party MLA Devakumar's son," Vijayan said while addressing a press conference.

Responding to queries by reporters, he said Devakumar's son has been involved with the party from a young age and continues to work for it.

Earlier, the opposition Congress had accused Vijayan of attempting to "appease majority communalism" through his recent interview.

Referring to his recent reported remarks in the interview about gold smuggling and hawala cases in Malappuram district, senior Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala had demanded a public apology from Vijayan to the people of the state.

Chennithala also alleged Vijayan used a PR agency to make such statements and suggested there was a conspiracy behind it.

The Chief Minister's Office (CMO) had clarified that Vijayan never referred to any particular place or region, nor did he use the terms "anti-state" or "anti-national activities" in his interview.