Following the Ernakulam Special PMLA Court's observation that there is prima facie evidence against the CPM and its former Thrissur district secretaries for knowingly assisting in money laundering in the Karuvannur bank scam case, the party has intensified its claims that it is being targeted by the BJP.

The court had ordered the issuance of summons to CPM central committee member and MP K Radhakrishnan, state committee member and MLA A C Moideen, and state committee member M M Varghese, directing them to appear on July 4.

In a statement, the CPM State Secretariat said the PMLA court's decision was a continuation of efforts to relentlessly pursue senior party leaders in the name of the Karuvannur Cooperative Bank scam.

"It is unprecedented to implicate the party and those who served as district secretaries at the time over irregularities that occurred in a cooperative bank. It is clear that they have been implicated with political motives. This is part of a planned attempt to defame popular leaders by acting as servants of the BJP and thereby weaken the party itself. CPM is not prepared to surrender to such moves," the statement said.

The party said K Radhakrishnan, A C Moideen and M M Varghese are well-known public figures and asserted that people would not be misled by the Enforcement Directorate's allegations of corruption, looting and money laundering.

It further claimed that, as district secretaries, the leaders had worked to expose those responsible for irregularities at the Karuvannur Bank and protect the institution.

"They worked with the government to ensure that depositors got their money back by restoring the bank's operations. They also played a role in normalising the bank's functioning," the statement said.

The party also pointed out that the allegations against the Karuvannur Bank were initially investigated by the state police. It questioned the ED's intervention while the Crime Branch probe was underway, describing it as politically motivated.

"Kerala has also witnessed the conduct of this agency, which is doing the BJP's dirty work by framing leaders in fabricated black money cases," the statement alleged.

The CPM further claimed that vigilance authorities had caught ED officials accepting bribes and alleged that senior officers had paid substantial bribe to close cases.

"The idea that leaders can be hunted down and the CPM can be destroyed is merely a delusion of the BJP-led central government and agencies such as the ED," the party said. "The BJP, which intimidates other parties and leaders and gains political advantage through the ED, should not expect the same outcome from the CPM," it added.

The State Secretariat said the ED's actions should be recognised as vindictive and asserted that the party would fight the case both legally and politically.