Vijayan accuses Congress of ‘narrow-minded’ stand on ED action against opposition leaders

Former Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan accused the Congress of opposing ED actions only when its own leaders are targeted. Referring to searches linked to the CMRL case involving his daughter’s firm, Vijayan alleged the BJP uses central agencies against opposition parties while Congress fails to unite against such actions

Thiruvananthapuram: Former Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Friday accused the Congress of taking a “narrow-minded” stand on ED actions against leaders of parties opposed to the BJP, claiming that the grand old party objects only when its own leaders are targeted.

Vijayan, responding to queries from reporters at a press conference about the Enforcement Directorate searches at his residences, said that ever since the BJP came to power at the Centre, it has been adopting a tough stance towards parties opposed to it.

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“As part of that, it uses the ED in a biased manner against many opposition parties and their leaders. However, the Congress objects to it only when action is taken against its own leaders,” the Leader of Opposition in the state Assembly contended.

On why Chief Minister V D Satheesan was silent on the issue, Vijayan said that was a question that should be put to the Kerala CM.

He claimed that in the case of former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, the Congress kept asking why he was not being arrested or booked, and when a case was registered against him, they celebrated.

The Marxist veteran said that following the recent searches at his residences, former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin and Kejriwal also condemned the ED’s actions, while criticising the Congress’s stand.

“But, despite seeing all this, there is no change in the Congress’s stand, which is unfortunate. We all need to be united against such moves by the BJP, but the Congress leadership is adopting a narrow-minded stand regarding it,” Vijayan contended.

Regarding the ED action, he said that the agency has closed one account of his daughter, Veena T, and that he was not questioned, though he was present when the search was carried out.

On the violent attack against ED officials after the search at his rented home in the state capital, Vijayan said that CPI(M) leaders had taken steps to ensure the protests remained peaceful, and that everyone could see this.

The ED searches were linked to financial dealings between Vijayan’s daughter’s firm and a sand mining company. A total of 10 premises in Kerala, including Vijayan’s rented residence at Bakery Junction and his ancestral home in Kannur, were searched by the ED on Wednesday as part of its investigation into the CMRL money laundering case involving his daughter.