ED being used for political vendetta against Pinarayi Vijayan, says CPM’s A Vijayaraghavan

Kottayam: CPM politburo member A Vijayaraghavan on Tuesday said that enforcement directorate (ED) was being used to carry out political vendetta against leader of opposition Pinarayi Vijayan, and that the aim was to ‘eliminate’ CPM functionaries through accusations.Inaugurating the party’s extended district committee meeting in Pathanamthitta, Vijayaraghavan said an attempt was being made to implicate Vijayan in a bribery case. He alleged that sections of the media affected by ‘anti-communism’ were also behind the moves. He said ED had pursued Vijayan for 25 years and that nothing had come of the cases even after they reached Supreme Court. He accused Union govt of fostering a dangerous atmosphere of personal vendetta, and alleged that UDF govt in Kerala was colluding with it.Referring to the assembly election results, Vijayaraghavan said the Left had suffered a severe setback, with several CPM functionaries of popular standing losing. He also said that Congress had come to power in Keralam despite having little influence nationally. He said the party must examine its strengths and weaknesses and hold an intra-party discussion to address its limitations.He further alleged that the voting rights of minorities and scheduled castes were being denied across the country, and that Election Commission had removed crores of names from electoral rolls and created an atmosphere of fear. He said growing resistance was a source of hope and that CPM was able to stand at its forefront.Senior party member P J Ajayakumar presided over the meeting. State secretariat members P K Biju, P Rajeeve, V N Vasavan, M V Jayarajan, P Jayarajan and Saji Cherian; central committee member T M Thomas Isaac; former minister Veena George and district secretary Raju Abraham were among those present.A public meeting marking the conclusion of the meeting will be held at 5pm on Wednesday.You Can Also Check: Gold Rate in Kochi | Silver Rate in Kochi | Bank Holidays in Kochi | Public Holidays in KochiStay updated with the latest Kochi news. Download the TOI App.