Kerala CM refutes CPM's claim of BJP-Congress deal behind ED raids at Pinarayi Vijayan's houses

Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala Chief Minister V D Satheesan has rubbished CPM's allegations that the ED raids at the houses of his predecessor and Opposition leader Pinarayi Vijayan were part of a Congress-BJP deal.

Satheesan also ridiculed the allegations that the raids were planned during his meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in Delhi a day ahead of the raids.

"It looks like a joke to see senior CPM leaders, including former ministers, stating that ED initiated the raids at Vijayan's house as requested by me to the Prime Minister. Do they think that as soon as I tell the PM that Vijayan's house should be raided, the PM will immediately ring up those concerned and tell them that the new Chief Minister of Kerala made such a wish and hence it should be done," Satheesan ridiculed.

Denying the criticisms of police lapses in providing security to the ED officials, he said that adequate police personnel were deployed at the spots of the raid even as the police were not informed by the ED about the raids. He also said that stringent action would be taken against those who attacked the ED officials.

Satheesan also said that the ED action was not based on any fresh case but an ongoing investigation into the shady financial deal that the Congress had also raised earlier.

Vijayan reiterated that the ED action against his daughter Veena T was part of BJP's "dirty act" of misusing ED against political opponents. He also said that the ED froze one of her bank accounts.