56 minutes ago
5
Kerala Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala on Wednesday (May 27, 2026) dismissed the Communist Party of India (Marxist)'s [CPI(M)] allegation that political intrigue at the top-most levels of the United Democratic Front (UDF) government and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) at the Centre had manifested itself in the Enforcement Directorate's early morning raid on the residence of former Chief Minister and current Leader of the Opposition Pinarayi Vijayan.
The CPI(M) leaders had sought to link the ED raid on Mr. Vijayan’s residences in Kannur and Thiruvananthapuram with a one-to-one meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister V.D. Satheesan in New Delhi on Tuesday (May 26, 2026). CPI(M) activists took to the streets with banners, cautioning the “Modi-VD nexus” against attempting to “target the party.”
Hoardings erected
CPI(M) workers erected hoardings seeking to project a rhetorical parallel between Mr. Satheesan’s acronym (Vadasseri Damodara Menon Satheesan-VDS) with the initials of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) ideologue, Vinayak Damodar Savarkar (VDS), across the State in an attempt to portray the Kerala Chief Minister as a secret enabler of the Hindu majoritarian Sangh Parivar forces. The CPI(M)’s social media handles echoed the propaganda, broadcasting photographs of Mr. Satheesan attending a 2014 function where Savarkar’s photograph was displayed prominently.
Mr. Chennithala said Mr. Satheesan, as the newly sworn-in Chief Minister, owed a courtesy call to Mr. Modi, and it was wrong to read political meanings into the visit.
'Did not inform State'
He said the ED did not inform the State Law Enforcement about the raid and sought the assistance of Central paramilitary forces for protection. “The ED did not inform the State police about the raid. I spoke to the State Police Chief and also the Home Secretary, who reported that they had absolutely no information about the raid,” he added.
English (US) ·