Pinarayi Vijayan breaks silence on ED raid, attacks Centre for ‘selective targeting’

Thiruvananthapuram: Breaking his silence for the first time after the Enforcement Directorate (ED) raid at his rented residence in Thiruvananthapuram two days ago, Leader of Opposition in Kerala Assembly Pinarayi Vijayan on Friday accused the Centre of using central agencies as political weapons against non-BJP governments and opposition leaders across the country.

Appearing before the media at the Kerala Legislative Assembly after Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar’s policy address, Vijayan looked visibly uneasy when questions shifted from the Assembly proceedings to the ED searches conducted at his residence while he was present there.

In what was his first direct response to the raid, the former Chief Minister alleged that the ED was increasingly being deployed as a political tool to target rivals of the BJP government at the Centre.

“Action is being taken against non-BJP governments. ED is being used as a tool against political adversaries,” Vijayan said, widening the attack beyond Kerala and linking it to national politics.

In a pointed remark aimed at Congress, Vijayan accused the party of selectively supporting ED interventions depending on political convenience.

“Congress supports such actions when they are not targeted and wants these agencies to be used against their own opponents like Arvind Kejriwal and M.K. Stalin,” he said.

Vijayan further argued that the growing use of central investigative agencies against opposition leaders was against the democratic traditions the country had followed in the past.

However, he remained guarded on specifics related to the ongoing probe involving his daughter Veena Vijayan in the controversial CMRL-Exalogic financial transactions case.

Confirming reports that one of Veena Vijayan’s bank accounts had been frozen, Vijayan said only that “one bank account of Veena has been blocked”.

He also disclosed that ED officials did not ask him any questions during the raid at his residence.

Friday’s remarks marked Vijayan’s first political response after the ED action that has triggered intense political turbulence in Kerala.

While attempting to frame the raid as part of a broader pattern of central agency ‘misuse’, Vijayan carefully avoided detailed comments on the substance of the allegations or the evidence being examined by investigators. Even so, the appearance made it clear that the ED probe has now moved from being merely a legal battle into the centre of Kerala’s evolving political confrontation.

–IANS