'Party does not have any secret accounts in bank'; CPM has nothing to hide, says MM Varghese

THRISSUR: CPM Thrissur District Secretary MM Varghese said that there is a political move behind the Enforcement Directorate (ED) probe into the Karuvannur bank fraud case. He said that the party has nothing to hide in connection with the Karuvannur bank fraud case and that it has handed over account details of up to the Area Committee to the ED.

"I have not received a summons from the ED. The party does not have any secret account in the bank. We have cooperated with all interrogations. There is no reason for us not to cooperate with the probe. The CPM has nothing to hide. We will definitely win the elections even if others create adverse situations for us. We have given bank account details of up to Area Committee to the Election Commission. Other components can have accounts. What is wrong with that? The Centre is using agencies against the opposition parties. The Congress is criticising the CPM by saying that we have a deal with the BJP. They can say anything. But they are the ones who make open alliances with communal forces," Varghese said.

Meanwhile, the ED claimed that the CPM has five secret accounts in the Karuvannur Cooperative Bank where the fraud occurred. The agency informed the Election Commission, Reserve Bank and the Finance Ministry that transactions worth crores had taken place through these secret accounts. The ED also alleged that the party has 25 accounts in cooperative banks in the district without following the cooperative rules.

The ED made these revelations against the CPM in the letter it wrote in January in connection with the probe conducted into the Karuvannur probe case. It stated that the party created accounts by violating cooperative society laws and rules.