Thiruvananthapuram:
Senior CPI(M) leader Thomas Isaacs on Thursday alleged that the Enforcement Directorate (ED) was a “political tool” of the BJP-ruled Centre, which was trying to reverse development projects in Kerala and finance the state after KIIFB. was being thrown into ruin. ,
Talking to reporters here, Isaac said, “ED is the political weapon of the BJP. Nothing else. They use ED to isolate, arrest or detain their political opponents or bring down state governments ruled by opposition parties.” They will do anything without hesitation.”
The former state minister was speaking to reporters about the summons issued to him by the ED, a petition he had challenged in the Kerala High Court and his decision not to appear before the agency till the High Court decides on his plea. were talking about.
Mr Isaac said the decision to not appear before the ED was not his personal and was taken after deliberation and deliberation within the party, which has decided to wait for the High Court order.
He claimed that the ED probe by the Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board (KIIFB) had a “clear political objective” which was to stifle development in the southern state.
“They want to create confidence among the public that huge irregularities are going on in KIIFB,” he alleged.
He alleged that the Center is doing so and its efforts to push Kerala into financial ruin will not succeed as it cannot completely cut off all revenue sources of the state.
Mr Isaac said the Center cannot withhold Kerala’s share in central taxes or share in GST, nor can it interfere with the taxes levied in the state.
They can take away our right to take loans by treating the loans taken by KIIFB as state government loans and thereby push Kerala into financial constraints, he claimed.
He alleged that the ED and some other groups were working to achieve this goal.
He accused the Congress-led UDF opposition of hindering development in the state when they were in power and alleged that they have now joined the ED against the LDF government in Kerala.
“They (Congress) have not learned a lesson from what is happening in Delhi. Talking about Kerala, they have a different point of view. They have no national view,” he said.
Mr Isaac said the party has decided to legally and politically counter the Centre’s alleged moves to stifle development in the state and push it into financial ruin.
The petition filed by him in the High Court is part of a legal initiative and as part of a political strategy, the public will be taken into confidence against the Centre’s actions, he said and added that “if we have the support of the people, there is There is no need to be afraid of any ED.”
In a tweet on Wednesday, Mr Isaac said he has asked the investigating agency to withdraw the summons sent to him and alleged that its “rotary probe” in the case was against the spirit of the Supreme Court’s orders.
In his plea in the High Court, he has sought a direction to the ED to restrain him from “appropriating” his personal appearance before him “for an offense which is an offense that they are not prepared to disclose”. They have also argued that “the summons is prima facie illegal and is outside the scope of investigation contemplated under FEMA as is not believed to be in contravention of any of the provisions of the said Act.” The ED had last month summoned the senior Marxist leader. He was given a notice to appear on July 19. However, he did not appear before the probe agency stating that he has to attend classes at a party-run institution in the state capital.
The ED had sent a second notice for his production last week.
Mr Isaac had said before the last assembly election that the ED, the CAG and even the Income Tax Department were behind KIIFB.