Thiruvananthapuram: In what is being described as an unprecedented situation in the history of any Communist family in India, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan’s official residence, Cliff House, has witnessed something extraordinary — everyone in the family has received summons or notices from Central investigative agencies, except his wife, Kamala Vijayan.
Both the Chief Minister’s children — daughter Veena and son Vivek — have faced questioning or summons from agencies, including the Enforcement Directorate (ED), Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO), and others.
While the CPI-M routinely dismisses such actions as “politically motivated witch-hunts”, the notices have increasingly encircled the Chief Minister’s family.
What began with the controversial SNC-Lavalin case — still pending before the Supreme Court — has now spiralled into multiple investigations touching the diplomatic channel gold smuggling case, the Life Mission probe, the Cochin Minerals and Rutile Limited (CMRL) monthly payment controversy, and now, the latest ED notice to the Chief Minister himself in the Masala Bond matter.
T. Veena, the Chief Minister’s daughter, is embroiled in cases linked to her company, Exalogic, which allegedly received payments without providing services. She has already been questioned by the Central agencies.
Chief Minister’s son Vivek Vijayan was summoned by the ED in connection with alleged financial links identified during the Lavalin investigation, including payments made abroad for his education.
Reacting to the ED notice to CM Vijayan, Kerala Congress President and senior legislator Sunny Joseph said this is just a diversionary tactic — “a masala to distract public attention from the Sabarimala-related matters against the LDF government”.
He also claimed it to be a coordinated play between the Central and state governments to help the Chief Minister during election time.
“There is nothing new in this kind of adjustment politics, and nothing will come of it,” Sunny Joseph remarked, mocking the development by saying, “This notice too will have the fate of a mountain giving birth to a mouse.”
Even when former Principal Secretary to CM Vijayan, M. Sivasankar, was arrested in the gold smuggling case, investigations never reached further up the administrative chain or into Cliff House.
Now, with the Masala Bond case bringing the Chief Minister himself under ED scrutiny, the situation is deeply politically significant.
With only Kamala Vijayan, the CM’s wife, remaining untouched by notices, Cliff House today stands at a crossroads of legal inquiry and political symbolism.
(IANS)
