Thiruvananthapuram | Leader of Opposition in the Kerala assembly Pinarayi Vijayan on Saturday termed as "media creation" an ED report that Kochi-based CMRL's former managing director has admitted that payments were made to Veena T because of her personal relationship with the former CM.

Vijayan was responding to reporters' queries on the issue at a press conference here.

"Will it become true if it comes in the media? The allegations against Sreemathi teacher of drawing a family pension in the name of a former legislator came in the media. Was it true? If they have records, let them show it.

"It is all your (media) creation. Has it yielded any result? Keep trying for sometime, maybe you will get something," the Marxist veteran said.

He claimed that it was all part of the various attempt to target him.

"Let them try. We have seen many such things," he added.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED), in a report filed before the Adjudicating Authority in the money laundering case against Kochi-based Cochin Minerals and Rutile Ltd (CMRL), said that S N Sasidharan Kartha, founder and former Managing Director of company, admitted making payments to Veena and her now defunct firm Exalogic due to her personal relationship with then CM Vijayan.

The probe relates to allegations that CMRL paid Rs 2.78 crore to Exalogic Solutions Pvt Ltd without receiving any services in return.

The ED has alleged that Rs 2.78 crore in bogus expenses was booked in the name of software services and paid to Veena and her company without any services being rendered to CMRL.

The report has also alleged that the sham payments of Rs 2.78 crore for non-existent ERP services were corroborated by statements from Kartha and others, including Veena, who admitted that no deliverables had been provided to CMRL.

"Veena could not provide any evidence of tangible work carried out for CMRL in lieu of the Rs 2.78 crore received in the name of IT consultancy services," the report has said.

Reacting to news about the ED report, BJP MLA from Kazhakoottam V Muraleedharan alleged that Vijayan needs to clarify what favours he has done for Kartha in lieu of the money received by his daughter.

The BJP MLA also contended that Vijayan had several times in the assembly refuted the allegations against him and his daughter in the matter and therefore, in the current circumstance, he was not fit to hold the position of opposition leader.

He said that the BJP wants a comprehensive investigation to ascertain whether there were any other similar incidents of payments being made without rendering of services.

Congress MLA from Muvattupuzha Mathew Kuzhalnadan said that when he had claimed that the payments were made to Veena as her father was the CM, he was branded a liar and targeted by the CPI(M).

Kuzhalnadan said that the CPI(M) leaders who branded him as a liar and targeted him should now reply to the people of the state on the issue.

"So, I am happy that I am vindicated," he said.

The ED has questioned Veena and members of the CMRL board on multiple occasions as part of the investigation.

The agency registered the case under the PMLA based on a prosecution complaint filed by the Serious Fraud Investigation Office before a court in Kochi.