Thiruvananthapuram, May 27 (IANS) Kerala Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala on Wednesday said neither he nor the Kerala Police had prior knowledge of the Enforcement Directorate’s ongoing raids conducted at 10 locations across the state, including the residences linked to former Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and his family members in the controversial CMRL-Exalogic case.

“I spoke to the State Police Chief, and also the Home Secretary, and they too said they had no information. Their services were not sought. It is the Central forces which are providing security for the ongoing raids,” Chennithala told reporters.

The ED searches, which entered the sixth hour by afternoon, were conducted at Vijayan’s rented residence in Thiruvananthapuram, his Kannur home, locations linked to his daughter Veena Vijayan, CMRL officials and the Kozhikode residence of former minister P.A. Mohammed Riyas.

Rejecting CPI(M) allegations that the raids reflected a secret understanding between the BJP and the Congress, Chennithala hit back sharply. “What people really want to know is what happened to the alleged BJP-CPI(M) deal once the ED landed at Vijayan’s house,” he said, dismissing the Left charge as baseless.

Congress legislator Mathew Kuzhalnadan said the ED action followed Tuesday’s Kerala High Court order allowing the agency to continue its probe after disposing of petitions seeking to stall the investigation.

“When the High Court had granted an interim stay earlier, I was targeted politically. Now the stay has gone, and the ED is proceeding. Why are people afraid of an investigation? When vigilance raids were conducted against me during Pinarayi Vijayan’s tenure, I cooperated fully and never tried to evade the probe,” Kuzhalnadan said.

Meanwhile, after an emergency CPI(M) state secretariat meeting, party state secretary M.V. Govindan accused the BJP and Congress of jointly targeting Vijayan and the CPI(M).

“We have nothing to fear. There is not an iota of evidence against Pinarayi Vijayan. Veena has cooperated fully with the probe. This is pure political vendetta,” Govindan said.

He alleged that the narrative of a BJP-CPI(M) understanding had now collapsed completely and instead accused the Congress and BJP of acting together.

Govindan also referred to remarks earlier made by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, questioning why central agencies had not acted against Vijayan.

As CPI(M) cadres gathered outside Vijayan’s homes in Thiruvananthapuram and Kannur, raising slogans against the ED, Govindan announced statewide torchlight marches on Wednesday night by the party’s committees in protest against the raids before heading directly to the gate of Vijayan’s residence, where the searches continued.

All the available top Left leaders in the state capital city are sitting in protest in front of Vijayan’s home.

–IANS

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