Kannur: CPM leaders in Kerala will not leave the party or join another political formation out of fear of the Directorate of Enforcement (ED), party General Secretary M A Baby said in Kannur on Thursday, September 10.

Baby was responding to questions about the ED’s ongoing probe into the CMRL-Exalogic case involving former Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, his daughter T Veena and her husband, former minister P A Mohammed Riyas.

The ED had begun its money laundering investigation into the CMRL-Exalogic transactions without a police FIR, a course the Kerala High Court has held is legally permissible. However, the court also made clear that registration of the underlying scheduled offence is necessary for penal prosecution under the PMLA.

The ED has now forwarded its findings to the Kerala Police seeking registration of an FIR against Pinarayi Vijayan, T Veena, Riyas and others. The agency has also submitted material alleging a hawala trail of more than Rs 25 crore and possible transfer of funds to Dubai. Riyas has rejected the allegations as fabricated and said he was not afraid of any investigation.

Baby accused the ED of functioning as an extended arm of the BJP and alleged that the agency was using politically motivated investigations to create “new news”.

Opposition parties in India have repeatedly accused the ED of using investigations to pressure their leaders into joining the BJP, after which the cases allegedly lose momentum.

Baby said the CPM would not be intimidated by such investigations or pressure from central agencies. “The ED will realise that in Kerala, CPM leaders will not leave the party or join another political party out of fear of the agency,” Baby said.

He also turned his criticism on the Congress, accusing its Kerala leadership of adopting a double standard on investigations by central agencies.

Baby pointed out that the Congress-led government in Karnataka had condemned investigations by the ED and other central agencies when its ministers and leaders came under scrutiny. In Kerala, however, he alleged that Congress leaders were welcoming similar action when central agencies targeted CPM leaders. “I am curious to know how the AICC leadership views this extremely inappropriate and uncivilised behaviour of the state Congress leadership in Kerala,” Baby said.

Baby alleged that the ED had turned into a “criminal syndicate”.

He also referred to an earlier allegation by Riyas that the ED had blackmailed him and others and threatened to initiate cases against their children if they did not cooperate with the agency in creating what Riyas had described as a fictional story.