Confiscation of assets: CPM leadership worried over ED move

THRISSUR: The CPM leadership is getting worried as the Enforcement Directorate (ED) begins the confiscation of properties in connection with the Karuvannur black money case. Party's properties worth 73 lakhs, including three cents of land bought in the name of the district secretary, have been confiscated.

District Secretary MM Varghese stated that he had not received any information indicating that his or the party's property had been frozen. He claims that the party is being hunted, and political and legal action will be taken against such attempts.

Meanwhile, the CPM is worried about ED's next move. CPM had feared that the ED might come up with action before the Lok Sabha elections. However, the ED took action after the elections. During the election campaigns, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan visited the district committee office in Thrissur and held discussions with senior leaders. Days later, the district committee's account was frozen by the ED and the Income Tax Department directed the party to redeposit Rs 1 crore withdrawn from the party's account. When the CPM district secretary went to the bank with the money, it was seized from him and added to the party's account. The account was then frozen again.

Since it is a black money case, the party has many hurdles to defend legally. ED alleges that money received from benami transactions in Karuvannur Cooperative Bank was spent on the party's properties. ED had sought clarification from CPM district secretary MM Varghese many times in this regard.

In the recent Lok Sabha election, the party was relegated to the third position in the Irinjalakuda constituency where Karuvannur Bank is located. The party believes that the Karuvannur case is one of the main reasons behind the setbacks in the district.