THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Keralam Chief Minister VD Satheesan on Wednesday said that the ED letter for registration of an FIR against senior CPI(M) leader Pinarayi Vijayan and others, in connection with the alleged CMRL bribery case will be scrutinised legally and thereafter, steps in accordance with law will be taken.
Satheesan, at a press conference here following a cabinet meeting chaired by him, said there was "no politics in it".
"A letter has been received from the Enforcement Directorate (ED) under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). Since a central agency has sent the letter, it will be examined legally before taking a decision," he said.
"Law will take its own course," he added.
The CM also said that the Congress does not have any double standards on the issue.
He said that when Rahul Gandhi was questioned for over 50 hours by ED, the Congress had cooperated with it and party workers in Delhi had not destroyed the agency's vehicles, like the CPI(M) workers did in Keralam after a search at Vijayan's rented accommodation earlier this year.
His remarks come in the wake of ED sending a letter to DGP Ravada A Chandrasekhar seeking registration of an FIR against Vijayan, his daughter Veena T and her husband P A Mohamed Riyas and some others in connection with the alleged CMRL bribery case on the basis of "evidence" gathered during its probe and searches conducted under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
The ED has alleged that Cochin Minerals and Rutile Ltd (CMRL) made fraudulent payments of Rs 2.78 crore to Veena's now-defunct company, Exalogic Solutions, under the guise of "IT consultancy services".
The federal agency had searched premises linked to Veena, who was living with Vijayan at a rented accommodation in Thiruvananthapuram, in June and subsequently questioned her.