Jayarajan contradicts Govindan, says ED probe not politically motivated

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: LDF convener E P Jayarajan has once again put the CPM and the state government on the defensive by refusing to subscribe to the party's narrative that the ED investigation into the Karuvannur cooperative bank fraud was politically motivated.

In an interview with a news channel, Jayarajan said: "ED probes in general are politically motivated. In this particular case, I have no evidence to make the same allegations. In fact, I haven't gone into the minute details of this particular incident." CPM state secretary M V Govindan must have enough evidence to allege a political conspiracy in this case, Jayarajan said.

The LDF convener claimed he knew the key accused, Satheesh Kumar, but denied having any close ties with him.

Jayarajan, whose name was also dragged in the issue, mentioned that he had already filed a complaint with the state police chief, seeking an investigation. Jayarajan also rejected outright the claim by Satheesh’s driver that Satheesh had close contact with several top CPM leaders, including Jayarajan.

“Many people come to see me when I am in Thrissur, where I was in charge of the party district committee some 20 years ago. I cannot now say yes or no to the question whether Satheesh called on me at Rama Nilayam, but one thing I can say is that I was never approached by him for any help, nor did I extend any help to him,” Jayarajan said.

The LDF convener said he wanted the ED to question Satheesh’s driver, who raised allegations against him, and he voiced his suspicion that there might be a conspiracy to ensnare him in the issue.

Jayarajan said the Karuvannur bank crisis should have been addressed much earlier and assured that no culprits in the case would have a place in CPM.

He said the government's efforts were aimed at helping depositors and such actions should not be seen as attempts to assist the persons accused in the scam. Throughout the interview, Jayarajan maintained that he was not aware of the specific details of the bank fraud and made no attempt to justify the leaders accused in the case.









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