Thiruvananthapuram: The opposition Congress and BJP in Kerala lashed out Thursday at the LDF government over the arrest of CPI(M) state chief Kodiyeri Balakrishnan’s son Bineesh Kodiyeri by the Enforcement Directorate. The two parties alleged anti-national activities were being carried out under the Left front rule in Kerala. The Enforcement Directorate has arrested Bineesh in a money-laundering case related to drug seizure.
Amid demands for resignation of Balakrishnan, the ruling LDF said Bineesh was not a CPI(M) leader. So the party was not responsible for his deeds.
CPI-M secretary Sitaram Yechury asserted the arrest would not affect the party. He said Balakrishnan has made it clear that the law will take its course.
Balakrishnan had earlier this month made it clear that the party was not responsible for the deeds of Bineesh. He said probe agencies can take any action if his son was found guilty. Earlier in the day, Bineesh was arrested by the ED in Bangalore.
Chennithala, the leader of Opposition in Kerala Assembly, said with the arrests of former principal secretary to the chief minister M Sivasankar in the gold smuggling case and Bineesh in the drug related case the state government and the party were ‘now under custody;.
“Kerala is ruled by a gang of robbers. This is a total disgrace to Kerala. The party and the government are working together to carry out mafia activities in the state. Under the patronage of the CPI-M and the Pinarayi government, anti-national activities are being carried out in Kerala. The latest example of this is the arrest of the son of the party state secretary in a drug case,” Chennithala alleged.
BJP state chief K Surendran said the allegation against Bineesh was that he arranged funds for the drug mafia.
“Politically and morally, the CPI(M) should answer this. CPI(M) party headquarters, the AKG centre, and the chief minister’s office are under the scanner of probe agencies on the same day,” Surendran said. He made an apparent reference to Sivasankar’s arrest in the gold smuggling case. “Balakrishnan should step down from his party secretary post, Surendran added.
The demands were rejected by LDF convenor A Vijayaraghavan. “If the party secretary was involved in anything like this, then the party would have been responsible. However, the party is not responsible for the deeds of his son,” he told mediapersons.
Yechury also came out in support of the LDF government over the arrest of Sivasankar. “An IAS officer is appointed by the Centre. When this issue came up the officer was suspended by the Kerala government. Now they are seeking the resignation of the chief minister. Ask the Prime Minister,” he told a television channel.