Thiruvananthapuram: Keralam Chief Minister V D Satheesan on Wednesday said the Enforcement Directorate's (ED) letter seeking registration of an FIR against senior CPI(M) leader Pinarayi Vijayan and others in connection with the alleged CMRL bribery case will be legally scrutinised before a decision is taken.
Satheesan, speaking 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 chief minister also said the Congress does not have any double standards on the issue.
He said that when Rahul Gandhi was questioned by the ED for more than 50 hours, the Congress had cooperated with the agency and party workers in Delhi had not destroyed its vehicles, unlike CPI(M) workers in Keralam who allegedly damaged the agency's vehicles after a search at Vijayan's rented accommodation earlier this year.
His remarks came after the ED sent 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, along with some others, in connection with the alleged CMRL bribery case.
The request was based on "evidence" gathered during the agency's 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 searched premises linked to Veena, who was living with Vijayan at a rented accommodation in Thiruvananthapuram, in June and subsequently questioned her.