The Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Saturday continued to use the Enforcement Directorate investigation into Bineesh Kodiyeri, son of Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan, to assail the Left Democratic Front (LDF) government and the CPI(M).
The Opposition parties also held protests across the State to highlight the money laundering and corruption charges against M. Sivasankar, former Principal Secretary to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan.
Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee president Mullappally Ramachandran said CPI(M)’s decision to absolve Mr. Balakrishnan of the guilt of his son’s “criminality” pointed to the moral decline of the working-class organisation.
The CPI(M) Central committee lacked a leader like V.S. Achuthanandan to hold wrongdoers in the party to account. The committee had merely rubber-stamped the sins of Kerala leaders.
Mr. Ramachandran alleged that Bineesh headed an international drug and money laundering ring. He had used the shade of power to amass wealth illegitimately. His brother, Binoy, had attempted to browbeat ED officers in Bengaluru, he alleged. BJP State president K. Surendran said the CPI(M) central leadership was funded by its Kerala unit. CPI(M) was in its last throes in West Bengal. It never had a pan-India presence. The CPI(M) in New Delhi required funds from Kerala to survive.
Mr. Surendran asked the Kerala Cricket Association to expel Bineesh. He said some office-bearers in the KCA had financial links with Bineesh. Hence, they were compelled to protect him. Mr. Surendran said Bineesh had used the heft of his father’s political office to wrest the control of the KCA from genuine cricketers. The UDF government also turned a blind eye to the corruption in the KCA headed by a faction led by T.C. Mathew, Mr. Surendran alleged.
The BJP also demanded an inquiry by the ED into Bineesh’s “investments and partners” in the entertainment and cinema industry. Some cinema producers were frontmen for Bineesh’s illegal operations. Mr. Surendran said the UDF government had glossed over criminal cases registered against Bineesh.
