As Enforcement Directorate (ED) raids continued on Wednesday at premises linked to former Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and his son-in-law, MLA P A Mohammed Riyas, in connection with the Cochin Minerals and Rutile Limited (CMRL) case, the CPM leadership strongly defended Vijayan and his daughter Veena Vijayan, terming the action politically motivated. The CPM maintained that the raids were not merely linked to allegations surrounding Veena Vijayan’s IT firm, but were part of a larger attempt by the Centre to politically target the party and its leadership.

Addressing the media in New Delhi, CPM General Secretary M A Baby said Veena had fully cooperated with the investigation from the beginning. “She appeared before the probe team and answered all their questions. There has never been any issue regarding a lack of cooperation. Ignoring these facts, the ED has now proceeded with the raid, which points to hidden political motives,” he alleged, adding that Veena would continue to cooperate with all legal procedures.

Calling the raids a “degraded political act”, Baby said the real target was not Veena Vijayan but Pinarayi Vijayan himself. “Though the raid is officially against Veena Vijayan, the real target is clearly Pinarayi Vijayan. Veena became the target only because she is his daughter,” he said.

According to Baby, the developments should be viewed in a broader political context, as an attempt by the BJP-led Centre to challenge the CPM and its leadership. While Veena would address the matter legally, the party would fight it politically, he added.

The CPM leader also made allegations against two ministers in the newly sworn-in cabinet led by V D Satheesan, though he did not name them. Referring to documents linked to the CMRL case, Baby claimed that several prominent figures in Kerala politics had received large sums from the company without providing services comparable to those allegedly rendered by Veena Vijayan.

“Two among those who received such payments are now ministers in the cabinet led by Satheesan. It should be investigated whether more people are involved. What services they provided to CMRL and on what basis they received such huge sums should be probed seriously,” he said.

Baby further asserted that neither the CPM nor Pinarayi Vijayan could be intimidated through such actions. “If the government believes that raids like this can instil fear in Pinarayi Vijayan or the CPM, they do not understand who Pinarayi Vijayan is or what the CPM stands for,” he said.

Recalling Vijayan’s political past, Baby said the former Chief Minister had faced arrest and police brutality during the Emergency imposed by former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi while serving as a young MLA. “The Congress government at the time tried to brand CPM leaders as agents of foreign countries. Now, under Narendra Modi, a neo-fascist style of politics is being pursued to threaten and weaken opposition parties, similar to what was done against the Aam Aadmi Party,” he alleged.

Responding to questions on whether the CPM was adopting double standards compared to its stand during allegations against Bineesh Kodiyeri, Baby said the party had addressed the matter after discussions with his father, the late senior CPM leader Kodiyeri Balakrishnan.

He also referred to earlier remarks by Rahul Gandhi questioning why Pinarayi Vijayan had not been arrested in the case. “Rahul Gandhi had earlier asked why Pinarayi Vijayan had not been arrested. I hope he will express a different opinion now, if he has one, in light of the recent developments,” Baby said. Earlier in an X post, Baby asked if the UDF government was complicit in this raid.