Thavanur: A day after Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan rejected his demand for a probe by Enforcement Directorate (ED) into an alleged money laundering in a cooperative bank in Malappuram, former minister K T Jaleel told media that he will continue his crusade against IUML heavyweight P K Kunhalikutty, who, according to him, "criminalised League politics."
The former minister of Higher Education and Welfare of Minorities said he had never been a part of any hawala deals or earned a penny through corruption. I don't owe a single rupee to anyone and have no illegal wealth anywhere in the world.
"I will continue to fight against Kunhalikutty and his hawala-black money deals till my last breath," he said.
Last week, Jaleel had given a statement to the ED against Kunhalikutty over alleged financial irregularities committed by the League leader in the name of financial transactions of the Muslim League mouthpiece 'Chandrika'.
Talking to reporters in Kochi on September 2 after giving his statement, Jaleel said the ED had taken note of the allegations he had levelled against Kunhalikutty both inside and outside the State Assembly and had issued a notice to him for taking his statement.
Jaleel had claimed he has provided the ED with some documents to prove his allegations and will provide more documents in connection with the case.
Later, he held a held a press conference in Malappuram charging Kunhalikutty of carrying out fraudulent transactions to the tune of Rs 1,021 crore through AR Nagar Service Cooperative Bank in Malappuram district.
Jaleel had also demanded that the ED should probe into these transactions.
This bank is run by representatives of the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML). Kunhalikutty is the leader of IUML in the Assembly.
On CM's comments
However, the chief minister on Tuesday opposed any sort of probe by the ED in the alleged irregularities in the state's cooperative financial institutions, saying the Central agency need not meddle with the cooperative sector.
He also pulled up Jaleel for taking up the matter with the ED. "There is no need for ED to meddle in the cooperative sector of Kerala," Vijayan told a press conference in Thiruvananthapuram.
The Chief Minister said the state's Cooperative Department was equipped to investigate such matters and it has already initiated a probe into the alleged irregularities in the A R Nagar Service Cooperative Bank.
In a sarcastic note, Vijayan said Jaleel's trust with ED might have gone up since he himself was questioned by the central agency as part of its investigation into the gold smuggling case.
Responding to the chief minister's comments, Jaleel said Pinarayi is like a fatherly figure to him. The chief minister has all the rights to correct, guide and advise me.
The chief minister's statement was seen as setback for Jaleel who has waged a battle against Kunhalikutty.
The CPM-backed MLA from Thavanur also slammed right-wing cyber-warriors and those who troll him social media.
(With inputs from PTI)