Enforcement Directorate (ED) officials conducted raids at multiple premises linked to former Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan in Kerala on Wednesday, with the situation escalating into violence as protests intensified. Armed central security personnel stood guard outside Vijayan's two-storey house at Bakery junction and his residence in Kannur district while ED teams carried out searches. The raids were part of 10 premises across Kerala being searched under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). As the news of the raid emerged, party workers and leaders began assembling outside the house gate, which was guarded by central armed police forces. However, the mood of the protest changed as the SFI protest march reached the location, leading to a charged environment where protesters hurled footwear and water bottles at central police personnel, with the windshield of the ED vehicle being broken during the incident.
CPI(M) workers assembled outside Vijayan's residence in Pinarayi village in Kannur district and raised slogans against the ED, alleging it was a 'politically motivated' action of the BJP-led central government. CPI(M) general secretary M A Baby condemned the raids, terming it a 'targeted attack' on a top Opposition leader by the BJP-led government. Speaking to reporters, Baby claimed the CPI(M) will prove before the people that the raids were 'politically motivated' and alleged that the party would continue to resist what it described as political vendetta. Senior CPI(M) leader P Jayarajan alleged that the ED raids were part of a 'joint Congress-BJP operation' and their 'grand design', claiming the searches followed the meeting between Kerala CM V D Satheesan and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Meanwhile, Kerala Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala said that neither the state police nor the Home Department had prior knowledge of the ED search operations, adding that the ED had not sought any assistance from the Kerala Police for the search operations.
The ED action is linked to allegations that Cochin Minerals and Rutile Ltd (CMRL) paid ₹1.72 crore to Exalogic Solutions, owned by Vijayan's daughter T Veena, between 2018 and 2019 without receiving any services in return, according to Business Standard reports. The ED registered a case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) in 2024 to investigate the allegations. The agency stated that Ex CM of Kerala and his daughter being covered in the investigation, with the issue being funds diverted from CMRL to various individuals under the guise of expenses which are fake. The allegation is that the payment was instead used to settle debts of Veena's company and thus passing down liability to the publicly-listed company. The raids came after the Kerala High Court dismissed a petition filed by CMRL on Tuesday, seeking to quash the ED proceedings. Notably, the State-owned Kerala State Industrial Development Corporation (KSIDC) has a 14% stake in CMRL, which had hired Ms. Veena on a retainer fee as an IT consultant.
CPM members led by state secretary M V Govindan sat outside the residence in protest against the ED action, with several leaders including former minister V. Sivankutty, MLA V. Joy, Anavoor Nagappan, V.K. Prasanth, and Bineesh Kodiyeri taking part in the protest. Former minister Mohammed Riyas posted on Facebook stating that he will continue to fight against the Sangh Parivar till his last breath, writing 'You may attack me from all sides... but I will not bow before the Sangh Parivar. I will fight till my last breath.' CPI(M) general secretary Baby questioned whether the UDF government was complicit in the raid, adding that such moves will not intimidate the CPI(M) or Vijayan. Meanwhile, Kerala CM V D Satheesan responded to CPIM's allegation of the raids being a part of the 'BJP-UDF deal', stating that during Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan's tenure, he had met the Prime Minister in Delhi several times, and such interactions were part of official procedures. Vijayan and Ms. Veena had repeatedly maintained that Exalogic's contract with CMRL was above board, that both firms had transacted transparently through bank accounts, and that the IT firm had paid its income taxes and submitted the requisite documents to various regulatory authorities.
