Thiruvananthapuram | The ED searches at residences linked to former Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan triggered a fresh political storm on Thursday.
The Congress alleged that the searches were intended to shield the CPI(M) leader from mounting internal criticism, while the Left defended the protests against the central agency and the BJP strongly condemned the violence.
A day after the Enforcement Directorate conducted the searches and violence allegedly broke out against its officials, senior Congress leader and Kerala minister K Muraleedharan claimed the party suspected the ED action was aimed at protecting Vijayan, who was facing severe criticism from within the CPI(M).
The CPI(M), however, claimed there was no attack on ED officials and argued that the officials should have waited for protesters to calm down before leaving Vijayan’s rented residence after the searches.
Earlier in the day, Muraleedharan reiterated that the Congress neither supported the ED nor the searches conducted by the agency, and claimed that such action should have been initiated when Vijayan was serving as chief minister.
He, however, condemned the alleged attack by CPI(M) workers on vehicles carrying ED officials who had searched the former chief minister’s rented residence in the state capital.
“Taking the law into one’s hands and disrupting law and order will not be condoned by the government,” said the minister, who holds the Health and Devaswom portfolios.
He further said the Congress did not need to enter into any deal to politically destroy a leader who had already been “badly defeated” by the people.
“We suspect that the ED searches were a rescue attempt as they came at a time when Vijayan was facing severe criticism from within the party,” he alleged.
CPI(M) leader M Swaraj, speaking at an event, claimed that no one had attacked the ED and that the incident outside Vijayan’s residence could not be described as an attack.
He said the Left party leadership had made it clear that the protests should remain peaceful.
Swaraj also claimed that Left parties neither engaged in, encouraged, nor supported any kind of violence.
Senior CPI(M) leader V Sivankutty said the ED officials should have stepped out only after the protesters had calmed down.
He said the CPI(M) had no intention of obstructing the investigating officials.
Sivankutty also blamed the police for failing to properly assess the situation before allowing the ED officials’ vehicles to leave Vijayan’s rented residence.
While the CPI(M) defended the actions of its workers, the BJP questioned why Left activists allegedly attacked ED officials if Vijayan had nothing to hide, as he had repeatedly claimed.
Senior BJP leader V Muraleedharan said that if the CPI(M) believed it could obstruct the ED probe through violence, it was mistaken because such tactics would not work against a central agency.
Responding to CPI(M) allegations of an understanding between the Congress and the BJP, Muraleedharan, the MLA from Kazhakkoottam, asked whether the case had emerged after the UDF came to power.
“If not, where is the deal? The CPI(M) makes all kinds of allegations. The Marxist party knows why the raid was delayed. They have been trying to obstruct the probe by filing pleas in various High Courts. That shows they have something to hide,” he said.
He also alleged that the attack on ED officials reflected the failure of the state home department and suggested that the police were not functioning effectively under the government.
Meanwhile, BJP leader K Surendran said the ED should investigate everyone who allegedly received money from CMRL and not limit the probe to the amounts received by Vijayan’s daughter and her now-defunct firm.
The ED on Thursday conducted searches at 10 premises in Kerala, including Vijayan’s rented residence at Bakery Junction in Thiruvananthapuram and his permanent residence in Kannur, as part of its investigation into the CMRL money laundering case involving his daughter, Veena T.
The ED probe stems from a complaint filed by the Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) after the interim settlement board of the Income Tax Department questioned the legitimacy of certain transactions between Cochin Minerals and Rutile Ltd (CMRL) and Veena’s now-defunct firm.
According to the ED case registered under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) in 2024, CMRL allegedly paid Rs 1.72 crore to Veena’s company, Exalogic Solutions, between 2017 and 2020 without receiving any services in return.
