Kerala Chief Minister V.D. Satheesan has said the government will legally examine the Enforcement Directorate’s communication in the CMRL-Exalogic case…reports Asian Lite News Desk
Kerala Chief Minister V.D. Satheesan has said the state government will examine the Enforcement Directorate’s communication in the CMRL-Exalogic case and take action in accordance with the law.
The ED has forwarded its findings and supporting documents to the Kerala State Police Chief under Section 66(2) of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), seeking registration of a case under the Prevention of Corruption Act and other applicable laws against former Chief Minister and Opposition Leader Pinarayi Vijayan, his daughter T. Veena and son-in-law P.A. Mohammed Riyas, among others.
Reacting to the development on Wednesday, Satheesan said the government would first conduct a legal examination of the material provided by the agency before taking a decision.
“This is not a political issue. The law will take its own course,” he said.
The Chief Minister said the ED had forwarded material relating to more than one case and stressed that the government needed to examine the evidence before deciding on further action.
Satheesan also criticised the CPI(M)’s response to the ED’s move, saying it was natural for the party to defend its leaders but describing developments within the party as “strange”.
Drawing a comparison with the Congress’s response when its leaders faced ED scrutiny, Satheesan said Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi had cooperated with the agency and undergone prolonged questioning. He added that Congress workers had not attacked ED officials.
On the PM SHRI scheme, Satheesan said a Cabinet sub-committee was examining the matter and would take a decision in due course.
He alleged that a committee constituted by the previous LDF government to examine the issue had not met for seven months.
Satheesan also defended his government’s record on appointments to ministers’ personal staff.
He said the present administration had 476 personal staff members, compared with 787 during the previous government headed by Pinarayi Vijayan.
According to Satheesan, no minister in the current Cabinet had appointed more than 25 personal staff members, while several ministers had fewer than that number.
Reiterating the government’s position, the Chief Minister said decisions concerning the ED communication and other matters would be guided by legal procedures rather than political considerations.
