Pinarayi vs ED: Former CM flags deliberate targeting, questions CMRL case charges

Alappuzha: Opposition Leader and former Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has lashed out at the Enforcement Directorate (ED) over its probe into the CMRL-Exalogic case, questioning the agency’s allegations against the company owned by his daughter, T Veena.

Speaking at the inauguration of a party district committee office in Alappuzha, Vijayan asked what was wrong with Exalogic providing services to Cochin Minerals and Rutile Limited (CMRL) and receiving payment for those services.

He said Exalogic had provided services to other organisations as well and argued that it was a normal business practice for one company to provide services to another for payment.

“What is wrong with one company providing services to another and being paid for it?” he asked.

Vijayan also referred to financial transactions and loans involving the government, saying some loans had to be repaid by the government and that his government had handled such obligations properly.

He alleged that he was deliberately targeted in the case from the beginning because he was Veena's father.

Vijayan also questioned the ED's allegations concerning P A Mohammed Riyas and foreign transactions. He said the business transactions between CMRL and Exalogic had taken place even before Veena and Riyas got married. This timeline raised questions about the allegation that Riyas was involved in the transactions, he said