The Congress and the BJP on Wednesday sought to politicise the reported “inability” of C.M. Raveendran, Additional Private Secretary to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, to appear before the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday.
Mr. Raveendran, who was under treatment at Government Medical College Hospital, Thiruvananthapuram, for post-COVID-19 complications, had reportedly pleaded physical unfitness to appear for questioning at the ED office in Kochi on December 10.
The MCH has formed a medical board to weigh Mr. Raveendran’s health status to evaluate whether he required further hospitalisation.
Oppn. demand
Leader of the Opposition Ramesh Chennithala demanded that a team from All India Institute of Medical Sciences examine Mr. Raveendran for any illness.
Opposition parties alleged that the Left Democratic Front (LDF) aspired to delay Mr. Raveendran’s appearance before the agency. It feared that the news optics of his interrogation on the day of second phase of the local body elections would turn more voters against the ruling coalition.
Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee president Mullappally Ramachandran attributed Mr. Raveendran’s “repeated reluctance” to appear before the ED as a pathetic attempt on the part of the government to shield Mr. Vijayan from the potential investigation.
He told reporters in Kannur that Mr. Raveendran was Mr. Vijayan’s most trusted aide for years and could spill the beans on the Chief Minister.
BJP State president K. Surendran said MCH authorities had harboured Mr. Raveendran at the instance of the government. He alleged that Mr. Raveendran had repeatedly feigned illness to fend off ED interrogation.
‘Politically motivated’
Tourism and Cooperation Minister Kadakampally Surendran defended Mr. Raveendran. He said the ED’s move was a politically motivated attempt to cast the Chief Minister’s Office under a cloud of suspicion during the election period.
He said Mr. Raveendran, a political appointee, was known for his empathy and probity in public life. Mr. Surendran said the APS was genuinely ill. Mr. Raveendran has not said he would not answer the summons.
The Minister’s reaction came amidst reports that Mr. Raveendran had sought legal counsel possibility to move for an anticipatory bail in the High Court.
