Kochi, May 27 (IANS) The Enforcement Directorate’s raids at various locations linked to the controversial Exalogic-CMRL payment row triggered a sharp political confrontation in Kerala on Wednesday, with the Communist Party of India (Marxist) accusing the Bharatiya Janata Party-led Centre of using central agencies for political vendetta and the BJP demanding answers over alleged financial dealings involving former Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan’s daughter, Veena Vijayan.

CPI (M) workers protested in various parts of the state following the ED raids, and several party leaders alleged that the action was a political vendetta against the former Kerala CM.

The ED conducted searches at multiple locations, including the residences of Pinarayi Vijayan, his daughter Veena Vijayan, former state minister and son-in-law PA Mohammed Riyas, as part of its probe into the Exalogic-CMRL payment case.

The searches immediately snowballed into a political controversy, with both the ruling and opposition fronts trading accusations.

The CPI(M) General Secretary, MA Baby, strongly condemned the raids and alleged that the BJP government at the Centre was targeting opposition leaders through investigative agencies. In a statement, the party said the raids were aimed at intimidating Vijayan and the CPI(M).

Kerala Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala said the state government had no prior information about the ED operation and that the central agency had not sought assistance from the Kerala Police during the raids.

“The Kerala government or the home ministry has no information about this raid. They didn’t seek our support either. So, we don’t know the details of the raid. This question must be posed to the ED,” Chennithala told reporters.

Senior BJP leader and MLA V. Muraleedharan, however, questioned the CPI(M)’s reaction and sought clarification over the alleged payments made by CMRL to Veena Vijayan. “If your hands are clean, why panic? Can the party explain why CMRL paid money to Pinarayi Vijayan’s daughter?” he asked.

CPI(M)’s Kerala unit also criticised the ED action, calling it “a calculated assault on federalism, democracy, and the constitutional right to political opposition”.

The party further questioned the silence of the Congress-led United Democratic Front government in Kerala and asked whether the UDF was “complicit in enabling this witch-hunt” against Vijayan.

“Leaders who consistently challenge the BJP-led Union government and refuse to submit to Sangh Parivar politics are being targeted through intimidation, media trials, and selective investigations. When political opponents cannot be defeated democratically, the BJP resorts to ED, CBI, and Income Tax raids to harass and silence dissent,” said the Kerana faction of the CPI (M).

“This is not merely an investigation – it is a calculated assault on federalism, democracy, and the constitutional right to political opposition,” it said.

In a Facebook post, Riyas said CPI(M) workers would continue their struggle against the Sangh Parivar and would not be intimidated by such actions. “You may carry out attacks, but we will never bow before the Sangh Parivar. We will continue the fight till our last breath,” Riyas said in the post.

Meanwhile, the CPI (M) workers and the activists of the party-affiliated trade union held protests at various places across Kerala following the ED action against Vijayan and his family members on Thursday.

–IANS

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