KANNUR: Muslim League state secretary KM Shaji alleged that Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, the CPM and the state government tried to destroy him by politically hunting him and his family. Shaji was speaking to Kerala Kaumudi after the Supreme Court quashed the bribery and money laundering cases against him.

Q. What is the reason behind CPM's animosity towards KM Shaji?
Shaji: I have been at loggerheads with the CPM since my student politics days. They created this case to destroy me. CPM's grudge began when I won twice in Azhikode in Kannur, which is their stronghold. The animosity intensified when I exposed the mafia connections of the government and the Chief Minister. CPM should apologise for politically hunting me.

Q. Did they hunt your family as well?
Shaji: What mistake did my family commit? Modi government's ED joined hands with the Pinarayi government to hunt me down. They even tried to confiscate my house claiming that I accumulated unaccounted assets. They raided my house for several days. In the end, all their plans fell apart.

Q. Was the complainant a local CPM leader?
Although former Kannur block panchayat president and CPM leader Kuduvan Padmanabhan was the complainant, Pinarayi Vijayan was behind the complaint. It was alleged that I had accepted a bribe of Rs 25 lakhs for sanctioning a Plus Two batch in a school in Azhikode. However, neither the complainant nor the government was able to produce any evidence against me. In 2020, Vigilance registered a case against me, violating legal advice. The ED registered the case on the basis of this case. However, the High Court acquitted me in the case on June 19, 2022. The Pinarayi government and the ED then filed a plea against the High Court order in the Supreme Court. The government did not have an answer when the Supreme Court judges asked if they could show even a single statement alleging that Shaji had demanded a bribe.

Q. Are you saying that the Modi-Pinarayi governments joined hands against you?
It was Additional Solicitor General Raju who appeared for the ED in the Supreme Court. He was the one who approached the Supreme Court for the Centre against Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. However, the Indian Constitution and the courts still remain a beacon of hope. I was confident that I would get justice.