But the central investigating agency must know that Kerala is a different cup of tea. The tactics it has successfully used in North Indian state won’t do in states like Kerala and Tamil Nadu and West Bengal.

The latest step the agency has taken in its campaign against Kerala is to register an Enforcement Case Investigation Report (ECIR) in connection with an alleged monthly pay-off controversy involving the company of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan’s daughter T. Veena. The ECIR has been filed by the Kochi unit of the agency under the Prevention of money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002.

The action follows a report by the Income Tax Interim Settlement Board(ITSIB) in August 2003 on the ground that her company, Exalogic Solutions Private Ltd. had received Rs 1.72 crore as monthly payments from the Kochi-based Cochin Minerals and Rutile Ltd.(CMRL) although there was no evidence of any services given in return. The investigation by the Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SIFO) under the Ministry of Corporate Affairs into the monthly pay-off case is underway.

Besides Veena, the role of CMRL and the Kerala State Industrial Development Corporation (KSIDC) which holds 13.4 per cent shares in CMRL, is also being be investigated. It may be mentioned that the High Court in Karnataka had, in February, rejected a petition filed by Exalogic challenging the action of the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) in ordering a probe by the SFIO into the affairs of the company.

The latest ED move has come against the backdrop of the dismal failure of its previous attempts, at the behest of the Union Government, to destabilize the LDF Government. Not only did such misadventures come a cropper, the people gave a befitting reply to the BJP and the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF)’s campaign against the LDF Government, by returning the CPI(M)-led LDF back to power with a bigger majority in 2021 state assembly elections. The campaign of calumny had obviously failed to have any impact at all on the voting pattern.

The timing of the latest ED move against the Chief Minister’s daughter and CPI(M)central committee member Thomas Isaac is significant coming as it does just before the Lok Sabha elections. It is nothing but a desperate move by a panicky Modi Government, which is reeling under the adverse impact the revelations in the electoral bonds case have made. It is to divert the people’s attention from the issue that the arrests of Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren and Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal have been made. The saffron camp obviously thinks that such moves will fetch it rich electoral dividends. But it will be lulling itself into a false sense of complacency if it thinks so. If anything, the misadventure is set to boomerang badly on the Sangh Parivar and the Modi Government. The signs are already there.

Why is the BJP-RSS combine so scared? The reasons are obvious. The campaign undertaken by the Left parties against Citizens Amendment Act(CAA) and the electoral bonds issue are creating a big impact in the minds of the people. The left parties are undoubtedly in an advantageous position as they are the only ones who have not bought the electoral bonds. And it was the CPI(M) which moved the apex court against the electoral bonds and won a favourable verdict, which has dealt a devastating blow to the credibility of the Modi Government.

That explains the aggressive campaign against the left parties in particular. And Veena has been targeted as she is the daughter of Pinarayi Vijayan who is spearheading the campaign against the Union Government and the BJP-RSS duo. The Kerala CM is using the CAA issue and the electoral bonds case with telling effect in his election rallies which are attracting massive crowds to the dismay of the saffron camp.

Thomas Isaac is being targeted because he has been successfully resisting the ED’s attempts to ‘fix’ him in connection with an investigation into the issue of masala bonds by the Kerala Infrastructure Investment Board (KIIFB) Fund. The ED is busy issuing summons after summons to Isaac and the latter has shrugged them off repeatedly. The former finance minister of Kerala had opposed the ED move by terming the summons as illegal and arbitrary.

On his part, the Kerala Chief Minister has come down heavily on the Union Government accusing it of misusing central agencies to intimidate opposition parties. He also referred to the arrest of his Delhi counterpart Arvind Kejriwal saying that it could not be considered as either the first or the last. Democracy is in danger and the need of the hour was to defend it with all our might. CPI(M) leaders have extended solid support to the Kerala CM.

In his strong reaction, CPI(M) state secretary M V Govindan said the ED move was to help the leader of the opposition in Kerala VD Satheesan, who has been seeking action against Pinarayi. The ED, Govindan said, is filing cases against opposition leaders to further the BJP’s political agenda. The Union Government had used ED and other investigating agencies in the last assembly elections, too. Govindan blasted the Congress’s position on ED raids against non-BJP leaders. He said the party reacts only when ED goes after Congress leaders, he pointed out.

One thing can be predicted with certainty. Any misadventure on the part of ED against the LDF Government is bound to boomerang badly against the saffron camp and the Union Government. The growing support for the LDF in Kerala has clearly unnerved the BJP-RSS combine. Hence its attempts to destabilize the Pinarayi government by hook or crook. But the enlightened people of Kerala are solidly behind the LDF Government and the Chief Minister as they have realised that he is leading from the front the battle to save democracy and see that the idea of a democratic, secular and socialist India remains intact. (IPA Service)