New Delhi | The BJP on Wednesday called shameful the attack on Enforcement Directorate (ED) officials in Kerala during raids involving former chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan, and accused the Left and the Congress of shielding corruption.
The remarks came after ED raids linked to the financial dealings between former Kerala chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan's daughter's firm and a sand mining company triggered attacks on central agency officials earlier in the day in the state capital. CPI(M) leaders and workers hit the streets against the raids.
Violence broke out outside Vijayan's rented residence as ED officials left the premises.
In a video statement, BJP national spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla termed the incident "shameful" and alleged "widespread corruption" in Kerala under the Left government.
"This is indeed shameful. When there is an ongoing raid by the ED against the former chief minister of Kerala, Pinarayi Vijayan -- and that too mandated by the courts -- instead of cooperating with the investigation there was an attack on the investigating agencies," he said.
The BJP spokesperson also questioned the role of the state police and alleged a nexus between the Congress and the Left.
"This is the kind of fear and intimidation that they want to create if there is an investigation into their corruption allegations. And what was the Congress-led UDF government's police doing? What is the Kerala CM's government doing? This shows that there is collusion and corruption between the Left and the Congress," he claimed.
Poonawalla also alleged that the Left and the Congress are obsessed with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
"And therefore, see how they are defending each other. So, in Kerala, when the raid was ongoing against the former chief minister, the Kerala police under the Congress gave full support to the goons to attack the investigating officers," he said.
Poonawalla alleged that public servants, including female officers, were attacked and vehicles were damaged during the protests.
"We have seen this before in West Bengal. Judicial officers were attacked and raids interrupted. Now in Kerala, Left goons are attacking investigating officers. Even women are not spared, public property is damaged, and cars are damaged," he claimed.
Protesters, suspected to be CPI(M) workers, attacked at least three vehicles, including the one carrying ED officials, outside Vijayan's residence on Wednesday, even as police struggled to contain the mob.
There were six ED officials in the vehicle, one of them a woman.
The raids were carried out while eight central security personnel guarded the premises.
Chennai | DMK president M K Stalin on Wednesday said the Enforcement Directorate raids targeting former Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan raised serious concerns over the growing pattern of central agencies being weaponised against Opposition leaders.
Strongly condemning the Enforcement Directorate raids directed against former Kerala Chief Minister in Thiruvananthapuram today, Stalin said incidentally, this also exposed the hollowness of the reckless allegations made by some Congress leaders who repeatedly questioned why Pinarayi Vijayan had "not yet been targeted by the BJP".
"Such actions once again raised serious concerns over the growing pattern of central agencies being weaponised against Opposition leaders," Stalin said in a post on 'X'.
