The Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] on Wednesday (May 27, 2026) closed ranks in support of former Kerala Chief Minister and the party’s senior Polit Bureau member Pinarayi Vijayan following the Enforcement Directorate (ED) raids early in the day.
CPI(M) general secretary M.A. Babu condemned the raids on X. He termed the ED raid at the residences of Mr Vijayan in Kannur and Thiruvananthapuram as part of an anti-money laundering investigation into the CMRL-Exalogic alleged political payoff case involving the former Chief Minister’s daughter, T. Veena, as a “targeted attack on an Opposition Leader by the BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party) government.”
Mr Baby said neither the CPI(M) nor Mr Vijayan would be intimidated or cowed by the BJP’s attempt to use the ED as the Central government’s catspaw to “target” Opposition figures.
Mr Baby sought to draw the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) government into the controversy by asking on X whether: “Is the UDF government complicit in the raid?”
Brittas slams raids
Communist Party of India (Marxist) central secretariat member, John Brittas, MP, has strongly condemned the ED raids.
The CPI(M) leadership in Kerala also pivoted to assail the Congress and the BJP as “covert partners in the national scheme to target Opposition leaders”.
CPI(M) district secretary, Kannur, K K Rajesh, told reporters that the Congress served the BJP’s “political purpose” in New Delhi by falsely accusing Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader and former Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal of corruption in the issuance of liquor licences.
He said the BJP used the Congress’ insinuations as a political lever to arrest and incarcerate a serving Chief Minister on trumped-up charges of corruption. However, the Central government’s case against Mr Kejriwal came to nought with the Supreme Court finding that there was no “iota of evidence” to prosecute the former New Delhi Chief Minister.
CPI(M) State committee member P. Jayarajan told reporters in Kannur that the Congress had resorted to a similar tactic against Mr Vijayan in Kerala. He said the Congress, including its national leadership, was handwringing during the 2026 Assembly elections campaign over the “ED’s delay” in arresting Mr Vijayan and his family, and alleged a “CPI(M)-BJP nexus.”
Meanwhile, CPI(M) workers thronged in front of Mr Vijayan’s residences in Kannur and Thiruvananthapuram, expressing solidarity with the former Chief Minister. CPI(M) workers also turned out in front of MLA and former Minister P.A. Mohamed Riyas’ residence in Kozhikode in his support.
Politically motivated: CPI
The CPI State secretariat has termed the ED raids “politically motivated.”
“It was just a few weeks ago that Kerala witnessed Congress leader Rahul Gandhi asking why there had been a delay in arresting Pinarayi Vijayan. The searches by the ED raise serious questions. People would like to know if the Congress has retreated from its earlier position that the Centre has been using the ED as a political tool,” the second-largest constituent of the Left Democratic Front (LDF) said.
Meanwhile, Congress Working Committee (CWC) member Shashi Tharoor, MP, has refuted CPI(M) leader and MP John Brittas’ contention that the Congress actively aided the ED raids on Pinarayi Vijayan.
Curated by Aisha Patel
