Kerala Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala stated that he and the state police were unaware of the Enforcement Directorate’s ongoing raids at 10 locations, including former Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan’s residences. Chennithala clarified that central forces were conducting the raids, not state authorities.
The searches, ongoing for six hours, targeted Vijayan’s rented residence in Thiruvananthapuram, his Kannur home, his daughter Veena Vijayan’s locations, CMRL officials, and former minister P.A. Mohammed Riyas’ residence in Kozhikode. Chennithala dismissed claims of a BJP-Congress understanding behind the raids as unfounded.
Congress legislator Mathew Kuzhalnadan mentioned that the ED’s actions followed a Kerala High Court order allowing the probe to continue. He emphasized the importance of cooperating with investigations and criticized political targeting during such processes.
After an emergency CPI(M) meeting, party state secretary M.V. Govindan accused the BJP and Congress of jointly targeting Vijayan and the CPI(M). Govindan defended Vijayan, stating there was no evidence against him and labeling the situation as political vendetta.
