Thiruvananthapuram: The series of controversies that have emerged out of the gold smuggling case is haunting the Pinarayi Vijayan government in Kerala.
It is worried over what will come out next in the joint investigations of central agencies ranging from the NIA to the Directorate of Enforcement in the case. As a result, the CPM has now begun to turn against the investigating agencies. The chief minister, however, has not yet taken that stand. It is clear to the Chief Minister that it is inappropriate to blame the central government for the investigations which started from his office.
The questioning of minister KT Jaleel by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and the indications that he will be questioned again have come as a jolt for the CPM.
It however, became clear on Monday that the Chief Minister will not give up on his trusted lieutenant. The CPM also believes that Jaleel is not corrupt. There is, however, the suspicion that Jaleel failed to maintain the ‘diplomacy’ that is required as a minister.
The party’s assessment is that he is getting trapped by his own explanations. In any case, he will not be removed from the Cabinet on the ground that he was questioned by the ED. However, things could change if the investigation report goes against him.
The party also understands the severity of the BJP's campaign against the Left government at the national level. The party believes it was the same politics that was demonstrated when the ED's chief in Delhi revealed the questioning of Jaleel in Kerala.
As pointed out by the Opposition, it is the Chief Minister's Office and the party's state secretary's house that are at the centre of allegations and investigations in the case.
CPM state secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan’s stance is that neither he nor the party will step in to protect his son Bineesh Kodiyeri, who has been questioned by the ED in connection with a drug racket, allegedly linked to the gold smuggling case, that was busted in Bengaluru.
He believes Bineesh’s name cropped up in the investigations because of a genuine mistake and that he wouldn’t willingly get involved in a drug racket.
However, the CPI(M) will have to keep a close watch on the investigations because Bineesh is seen as a link in many financial transactions.
The party was expecting the NIA to look into the terrorist connection of the gold smuggling case, but the ED's inquiries into the hawala links of the case are emerging as a new challenge.
The controversy over the alleged involvement of a minister’s son in the Life Mission deal and the circulation of pictures of him together with Swapna Suresh, the main accused in the gold smuggling case, have also created confusion in the CPM.
At the party’s lower rungs, discussions are already filled with resentment and anxiety. Within the Cabinet itself, there are differences over the events and issues that led up to the questioning of Jaleel by the ED.
The LDF's other main constituent, the CPI, is also under pressure to speak out its disagreement.
The central leaderships of both the CPM and CPI will have to take seriously the digressions that are not usually associated with a Left regime.
