CPI(M) Keralam State secretary M.V. Govindan
Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] Keralam State secretary M.V. Govindan accused the Enforcement Directorate (ED) of inventing new stories to target Leader of the Opposition Pinarayi Vijayan and the CPI(M) after its earlier allegations in the Exalogic-CMRL pay-off case crumbled.
Addressing a press conference in Thiruvananthapuram on Friday (September 18, 2026), he said that the ED was now attempting to pursue the case using the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) government, having realised that it did not have enough material to proceed.
“The ED has now levelled hawala allegations in the case after realising that the earlier pay-off allegations will not stick. S.N. Sasidharan Kartha, managing director of Cochin Minerals and Rutile Limited (CMRL), and CMRL chief general manager P. Suresh Kumar had retracted their earlier statements to the ED, which they said was made under duress. The entire case of the ED and the media trial targeting Mr. Vijayan, his daughter T. Veena and (former Minister) P.A. Mohamed Riyas, was built on their statements,” he said.
He said that the latest allegations had also fallen flat after the release of the contents of the WhatsApp group, which, according to the ED, was being used for aiding hawala transactions.
“The BJP has been using the ED and other Central agencies as tools to weaken Opposition parties across India. Some of these Opposition leaders, such as the current BJP Chief Ministers of Assam and West Bengal who were earlier with the Congress and Trinamool Congress respectively, will find the easy way out by joining the BJP when faced with allegations. Leaders like those of the Left who stand up to such pressure tactics will continue to face renewed attacks. The CPI(M) always had a consistent stand regarding these agencies, unlike the Congress,” he said.
Power crisis
Mr. Govindan accused Chief Minister V.D. Satheesan and other Ministers of continuing to rely on falsehoods to evade responsibility of the acute power crisis that Keralam had been facing now after a decade of no power cuts. “Though it is clear that the State Electricity Regulatory Commission had rejected the power supply agreements entered into during the previous United Democratic Front (UDF) government’s term citing procedural violations, they continue to blame the previous Left Democratic Front (LDF) government for it. The UDF government’s new power purchase plans appear to be tailored for corporates to make money,” he alleged.
Search at Reporter TV
He said that the search operations at the news desk of Reporter TV were unprecedented and reminiscent of the Emergency days. However, many of the other media groups did not take a stand against the blatant assault on media freedom.
On Kerala University imposing a blanket ban on political activities on its campus and affiliated colleges, he said that the right wing which had realised the danger of the Students Federation of India’s (SFI) wide popularity on campuses was attempting to prevent the politicisation of the younger generation through such moves. Strong protests would be organised against the move, he said.
Published – September 18, 2026 08:56 pm IST
