Thiruvananthapuram, Oct 16 (IANS) CPI-M veteran and former Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan now has another record to his name.
He has become the first CPI-M Politburo member to be summoned by the Enforcement Directorate (ED), being asked to appear before its officials on Friday in connection with the Masappadi (CMRL-Exalogic) case.
Vijayan is no stranger to political records.
He served as CPI-M state Secretary from 1998 to 2015 and went on to become Chief Minister for two successive terms from 2016 to 2026.
No other Kerala Chief Minister has completed two consecutive full terms.
Now, an ED summons has added an entirely different distinction to his political career.
The irony is hard to miss.
The CPI-M has built much of its political identity around fighting corruption and demanding accountability from those in power.
In 2015, the party went all out against then Finance Minister K.M. Mani over the bar bribery allegations, eventually forcing his resignation, following adverse remarks made by a High Court judge.
Vijayan himself was among the most aggressive critics of then Chief Minister Oommen Chandy (2011-16) during the Solar scam controversy.
He repeatedly demanded Chandy’s resignation, sometimes in language far sharper than parliamentary courtesy would permit.
Chandy was eventually exonerated.
Today, the spotlight has shifted to Vijayan, who faces allegations linked to payments made by Cochin Minerals and Rutile Ltd (CMRL) to Exalogic Solutions, a company associated with his daughter, T. Veena.
Two cases have been registered in connection with the transactions.
Veena is the second accused in both, while her husband and CPI-M legislator P.A. Mohammed Riyas is the first accused in a separate hawala-related case.
The CPI-M’s standard defence is that the ED is being used to target political opponents.
That argument may form part of the party’s political response, but it does not make the summons disappear.
Had any other political party leader faced a similar development, the CPI-M would probably have demanded an immediate resignation.
In Vijayan’s case, however, the party has made it clear that he need not step down as Leader of the Opposition.
Oommen Chandy once remarked that Kerala politics often turns less on what is done than on who does it.
The present controversy offers a fresh test of that observation.
For a party that has long demanded accountability from others, the question now is whether the same standard applies at home.
–IANS
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