A ‘golden feather’ in CPI(M)‘s cap, says BJP leader V. Muraleedharan on ED’s decision to name it as accused in Karuvannur bank fraud case

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader V. Muraleedharan on June 29 said that the Communist Party of India (Marxist) has added a golden feather in its cap following the decision by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to arraign it as an accused in the multi-crore Karuvannur Service Cooperative Bank loan fraud case.

The CPI(M) is the first political party in the State to be arraigned as an accused in a money-laundering case. This is another leaf in the cap of the party under the leadership of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan after its back-to-back poor performances in the general elections held this time and in 2019, he told media persons here.

Mr. Muraleedharan alleged that the ED had found nearly 25 bank accounts in the name of the district and area committees of the CPI(M) in Thrissur. The party failed to furnish the details of these accounts before the Election Commission as per the norms. In the details submitted by the party in 2023, the details of these bank accounts were not included, he alleged.

He asked why the CPI(M), which is eloquent about preserving the Constitutional values and the legal system in the country, failed to adhere to the rules by disclosing the details of these bank accounts in its balance sheet. They had siphoned off the money of the depositors in the Karunvannur Co-operative Bank by generating fake loans and sanctioning benami loans in favour of the party leaders, he alleged.

Referring to the disclosures made by former Democratic Youth Federation of India leader Manu Thomas against the party leadership in Kannur, Mr. Muraleedharan accused the CPI(M) of indulging in criminal profiteering and reminded the party to carry out a self introspection before blaming the Prime Minister Narendra Modi for launching a political witch-hunting against it using investigative agencies.