Though it's been two days since the Enforcement Directorate (ED) raids at the residence of former Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan in connection with the money laundering case involving his daughter Veena Vijayan, Chief Minister V D Sateeshan has maintained a strategic silence despite the public protests following the raids descending into chaos.
Although the Chief Minister was bombarded by questions about the law and order situation during his visit to Panakkad, the IUML supremo’s residence, he refused to comment. The mediapersons had met him after he landed at Kochi International Airport after his official visit to Delhi, but the Chief Minister stayed mum. He had earlier taken the same stand to media queries regarding the ED in Delhi.
Speculations are that Sateeshan’s silence is indicative of his stance that raids by a central agency had nothing to do with the state. Though it evolved into a law and order crisis, the chief minister is of the view that Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala should be the one handling it.
However, political pundits say that Sateeshan realises that this is a double-edged sword. Though the Congress has maintained that ED is the BJP’s political tool to corner political opponents, issuing a statement against the central agency at this point will be interpreted as an overt support for Pinarayi Vijayan, a staunch opponent of the Congress and Sateeshan.
That said, the CPI(M) and Pinarayi Vijayan himself have minced no words in attacking Congress during the raids. “For a long time, the ED has wanted to conduct a search at my house. I feel that this search would give great satisfaction to certain people, especially to someone like Rahul Gandhi," Vijayan said.
The CPM has decided to raise the ED raids as a political issue at various levels and is targeting the Congress and the central agency alike.
Though he is yet to react to this, many feel that Sateeshan will have to break his silence sooner or later, since the Assembly sessions are set to start soon.
