ED is making up new stories as old ones have crumbled, says CPI(M) Keralam secretary MV Govindan

CPI(M) Keralam State Secretary MV Govindan

Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI(M)) Keralam state secretary MV Govindan has accused the Enforcement Directorate (ED) of concocting new stories targeting opposition leader Pinarayi Vijayan and the CPI(M) after his earlier allegations in the Exalogic-CMRL pay case crumbled.

Addressing a press conference in Thiruvananthapuram on Friday (September 18, 2026), he said the ED is now trying to pursue the case with the help of the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) government as it has realized that it does not have enough material to proceed.

“The ED has now leveled the hawala charges in the case after realizing that the earlier allegations of payoff would not hold. SN Sasidharan Kartha, managing director of Cochin Minerals and Rutil Limited (CMRL), and CMRL chief executive officer P. Suresh Kumar retracted their earlier statements to the ED in which they said the entire court case was made under the pressure of Mr. Vijayan and targeting their daughter. T. Veena and (former minister) PA Mohamed Riyas were framed on their statements,” he said.

He said the latest allegations also came to light following the publication of the contents of a WhatsApp group which the ED said was being used to facilitate hawala transactions.

“The BJP is using the ED and other central agencies as tools to weaken opposition parties across India. Some of these opposition leaders like the current BJP Assam and West Bengal chief ministers who were earlier in the Congress and Trinamool Congress will find an easy way out by joining the BJP when they face allegations. Leaders like those from the Left will face new tactics to face new tactics. The CPI(M) has always had a consistent stand to those agencies, as opposed to Congress,” he said.

Power crisis

Mr. Govindan accused Chief Minister VD Satheesan and other ministers of continuing to rely on falsehoods to evade responsibility for the acute power crisis that Keralam was now facing after a decade without power cuts. “While it is clear that the State Electricity Regulatory Commission has rejected power supply agreements concluded during the previous tenure of the United Democratic Front (UDF) government, citing procedural violations, they continue to blame the previous Left Democratic Front (LDF) government. The UDF government’s new power purchase plans appear to be tailor-made for corporations to make money,” he said.

Search on Reporter TV

He said the search operations at the Reporter TV news desk were unprecedented and reminiscent of the Emergency days. However, many other media groups did not oppose the blatant attack on media freedom.

On Kerala University, which has imposed a blanket ban on political activities on its campus and affiliated colleges, he said the right, realizing the danger of the Students Federation of India’s (SFI) widespread popularity in universities, is trying to prevent the politicization of the young generation through such moves. According to him, strong protests will be organized against this move.

Published – 18 Sep 2026 20:56 IST