Thiruvananthapuram (Keralam) [India], September 11 (ANI): Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader KN Balagopal said on Friday that the Enforcement Directorate (ED) is being used for “political vendetta” as the agency seeks the registration of an FIR against former Keralam Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, his daughter T Veena, and son-in-law P A Mohamed Riyas in connection with the alleged Cochin Minerals and Rutile Limited (CMRL) pay-off case.
Claiming that the agency has failed to make “any concrete cases against the current Leader of Opposition in the Keralam Assembly, Pinarayi Vijayan, Balagopal highlighted how even the Supreme Court has commented about the “attitude” of the ED.
“Generally in the country, the ED is using all these charges or cases for the political vendetta of the ruling government. Even the Supreme Court, in different cases, at different instances, has spoken about the attitude of the ED. Here, in this particular case, the ED was continuously doing some expedition work for creating some case against the former chief minister. And they failed to make many concrete cases,” he told reporters here.
“Now they are creating some other stories... This is politically motivated," he added.
The ED on September 8 formally approached the Kerala Police seeking registration of an FIR against former Keralam Chief Minister and State Leader of Opposition Pinarayi Vijayan, his daughter T Veena and son-in-law P A Mohamed Riyas.
The ED’s Kochi zone is learnt to have written to the Kerala Police last week seeking registration of the FIR as part of its ongoing investigation into CMRL financial transactions under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
The development follows searches conducted by the agency at multiple locations in Keralam and Bengaluru in connection with the case. In May, ED officials searched 10 premises linked to CMRL directors SN Sasidharan Kartha, Saran S Kartha, Veena and her company Exalogic Solutions Private Limited.
The agency said it recovered records, digital evidence, investment details and bank fixed deposits during the searches and froze around Rs 18.36 crore across nearly 242 accounts.
Earlier, CPI(M) MLA P A Mohamed Riyas hit out at the agency over the ongoing probe, asserting that his fight against the central agency would continue “till his last breath” and alleged that it had spread “blatant lies”.
Addressing a press conference on Thursday, Riyas said he was "not afraid" of the central agency and claimed that the agency had raided his residences in Pinarayi and Thiruvananthapuram but failed to recover any money.
Former CM Vijayan has also defended his daughter Veena Vijayan amid the allegations, saying all payments were properly accounted for and taxes were paid.
He said, “That company provides services to many people. It provides services to many establishments. At one point, a news report I used to hear was that those receiving the services included religious extremists. That there were institutions of religious extremists. It is a very famous charitable trust.” (ANI)
“Failed to make concrete cases against Pinarayi Vijayan”: CPM’s KN Balagopal reiterates ED being used for ‘political vendetta’
