Thiruvananthapuram: Home minister Ramesh Chennithala on Tuesday said enforcement directorate’s (ED) letter seeking registration of an FIR against leader of the opposition Pinarayi Vijayan, his daughter Veena T and son-in-law P A Mohamed Riyas in connection with the CMRL-linked bribery case would be examined and appropriate action taken in accordance with the law.Chennithala’s remarks came after reports emerged about state DGP Ravada A Chandrasekhar receiving the ED’s letter. The minister said he had spoken to the DGP, who informed him that the letter had been received only 10 minutes earlier.Later in the evening, the minister said, “The DGP has handed over the letter to the home secretary. The home secretary will submit the letter to govt for necessary action. After examining it, a decision will be taken on what action needs to be taken as per law. Since ED has submitted the letter, we can’t ignore it. Hence appropriate action will be taken after discussions with the chief minister.”“Govt is bound to take the legally required action. This is a letter given after the ED has already conducted a probe. So, we can’t ignore that. If legal advice needs to be sought, it will be done,” he added.ED has sent the communication under Section 66(2) of Prevention of Money Laundering Act, citing findings of its investigation in the case, sources told PTI.The provision under the anti-money laundering law empowers ED to share findings of its criminal investigation with a law enforcement agency for registration of a fresh FIR or complaint. ED can register a PMLA case based on such a police case.Meanwhile, RSP MP N K Premachandran said ED’s action against Vijayan was based on clear evidence and the allegations that had surfaced were only “the tip of the iceberg”.Premachandran described the developments as a new experience in Left politics and urged CPM to take a clear stand on the issue and explain its position.He said the allegations against a senior Left functionary were serious and alleged that Vijayan’s arguments had fallen apart. He added that the former chief minister had not provided answers to ED’s allegations.“CPM cannot escape responsibility from this,” Premachandran said, adding that more cases could emerge in the future.He alleged that the developments had caused a setback to the purported “understanding” between BJP and CPM.(With agency inputs)
