CPI’s Kerala Secy distances party from ED findings in Veena Vijayan case

Thiruvananthapuram, Aug 20 (IANS) The Enforcement Directorate’s (ED) latest findings in the CMRL-Exalogic case have widened the political fallout in Kerala, with the Communist Party of India (CPI) on Thursday choosing to distance itself from the allegations concerning Veena Vijayan, daughter of former Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, even as the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) stepped up their attacks on the CPI-M leadership and its inner circle.

The Congress was the first to slam Vijayan and the CPI-M.

State CPI Secretary Binoy Viswam sought to draw a firm line between the party and the financial transactions under investigation, saying the CPI had neither any role nor any interest in such business arrangements.

“These are not a matter of concern for us. The CPI is not part of it and has no role in such give-and-take arrangements. We have no interest in it and will not have any role in it,” Viswam said.

He went on to make the distinction even sharper, saying Left politics and business were entirely different and had no relationship with each other.

“Politics and business are separate. The CPI has nothing to do with it and has nothing to say about it,” he said.

Viswam’s unusually categorical distancing assumes political significance as the CPI is the second-largest constituent of the ruling Left Democratic Front.

The party has frequently taken an aggressive stand on allegations involving Congress and UDF leaders, often demanding political accountability and resignations.

Its decision to wash its hands off the latest controversy involving family of the CPI-M’s most powerful leader is therefore likely to invite questions about the differing standards adopted by the LDF’s two principal constituents.

The ED has alleged that documents recovered during its investigation contained details of financial transactions exceeding Rs 20 crore and that Rs 85 lakh was allegedly transferred to Dubai through an overseas communication/hawala channel.

The allegations remain part of an ongoing investigation and have not been established by a court.

State BJP Vice-President Shone George, who has pursued the case for nearly two years, launched a direct attack on Pinarayi Vijayan, alleging serious financial irregularities involving the former Chief Minister and his daughter.

George alleged that the developments represented a continuation of corruption dating back to the period when Vijayan was the State Electricity Minister and claimed that companies linked to Veena were used to launder the alleged proceeds.

He said the ED had now formally issued a press statement on its findings and added that the investigation was proceeding in the right direction.

He also asked why Veena had, according to him, not disputed the financial records that had emerged or initiated legal action over the allegations against her company.

George demanded that Vijayan resign as Kerala’s Leader of the Opposition, saying that the latest developments had made his continuation in the post untenable.

The demand for action against CPI-M State Secretariat member and former Minister Mohammed Riyas (husband of Veena Vijayan) came separately from Sabu Jacob, Kerala Chief of the Aam Aadmi Party and industrialist.

Referring to the ED’s findings, Jacob demanded that Riyas resign from the CPI-M State Secretariat.

He questioned the explanation that Veena, as an IT engineer, had the professional expertise to work as a consultant and thereby receive substantial remuneration.

Jacob also invoked the precedent of former State CPI-M Secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan, who had stepped aside from the party post after his son Bineesh Kodiyeri came under the ED’s scrutiny.

In the same vein, he demanded that Riyas resign from the CPI-M State Secretariat.

For the CPI, however, Viswam has chosen a markedly different course.

Rather than demanding an explanation or political accountability, he has insisted that the party has no connection whatsoever with the transactions.

The question that is now likely to haunt the LDF is whether such political distancing would have been possible had the allegations involved a Congress or other UDF leader.

With the investigation still underway, the controversy has consequently moved beyond the question of Veena’s business dealings.

It is increasingly becoming a test of political accountability within the Left camp and of how far the CPI is willing to stand apart from the CPI-M when allegations strike at the heart of its senior leadership.

–IANS

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