The ED had summoned Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan’s Additional Private Secretary, C M Raveendran to appear before it for interrogation on November 6.

But as ill luck would have it, the official, who is very close to the Chief Minister, won’t be able to make it as he has tested positive for covid 19. Covid has spoiled the ED’s party as the agency will now have to wait for at least two weeks for the official to be back on his feet.

But then, life is like that. The ED will have to like it or lump it. But, as a wag put it, the ED certainly won’t like it. It will have to, willy nilly, lump it.

The Opposition parties and the Left-hostile media will also find it difficult to digest the development. They would certainly dub it as a drama to avoid interrogation.

Likewise, the anti-Left media will have to stop salivating in anticipation of developments that could further damage the LDF Government’s reputation and credibility, at least for the time being.

Now, who is this Raveendran? It is necessary to have a closer look to understand why he is being targeted by the ED. Pinarayi himself has admitted that Raveendran is known to him for years. The CPI(M) and a section of the Left say the ED’s notice to Raveendran is a well-planned political move in which certain earmarked people are to be targeted to create an impression that the LDF Government is corrupt to the core.

The timing is also extremely significant. The move has come at a time when the Government is set to face two crucial elections: the local bodies’ election in November end or early December and the Assembly polls in May next year.

Raveendran, a close confidant of Vijayan, wields considerable influence in in the Chief Minister’s Office(CMO). During the V S Achuthanandan Government’s tenure in 2006-2011, Raveendran was part of the then Home Minister Kodiyeri Balakrishnan’s office.

He was part of the Opposition leader’s office when the OommenChandy-led United Democratic Front(UDF) Government took over in 2011.

Raveendran was also closely associated with the CM’s former principal secretary, M. Sivashankar. What more do you need to be targeted by the central agencies? This was the question posed by CPI(M) leaders.

It is worth mentioning that the ED notice to Raveendrancame soon after Kerala BJP leaders talked openly about some more officials in the CMO being targeted. Left leaders say the BJP leaders propose and the ED disposes!

Unlike, Sivashankar, Raveendran is still part of the CMO’s office. That could lead to his being subjected to gruelling interrogation the way Sivashankar was quizzed.

The possibility of top Kerala CPI(M) leaders also being summoned for questioning cannot be ruled out either. In fact, CPI(M) sources say that the notice to Raveendran is the thin end of the wedge. Obviously, the party is expecting summons to senior leaders too in the days ahead.

Earlier, dramatic scenes were witnessed when the ED team raided the residence of CPI(M) state secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan’s son, Bineesh, in Thiruvananthapuram. Bineesh’s wife Renitta, the couple’s two-year-old daughter and Renitta’s mother were present at the house during the 25-hour raid which started at 9.30 pm on Wednesday. Renitta complained of great distress caused by the behaviour of the ED officers. Tension flared up when the ED claimed to have recorded a credit card reportedly belonging to Mohammed Anoop, the drug peddler from the residence. Renitta refused to sign the document acknowledging the recovery of the card, saying that it was planted there. The State police and the Child Rights Commission served notices on the ED officers for alleged illegal detention of Bineesh’s family during the marathon raid. BJP leaders, however, accused the state police of trying to scuttle the central agencies’ probe.

Meanwhile, Kerala became the latest non-BJP State to withdraw the general consent given to the CBI to undertake any investigation in the State. Hereafter, the CBI will have to seek prior permission of the State Government before registering a case in Kerala. However, the decision will not affect the cases now being probed by the CBI. (IPA Service)