Thiruvananthapuram, Apr 11 (PTI) The Serious Fraud Investigation Office’s move against Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan’s daughter Veena in an ‘illegal payment’ case was another example of the Union government targeting opposition leaders using central agencies, CPI(M) state secretary M V Govindan alleged on Friday.

“This is a political conspiracy by the Centre, right-wing media and parties opposed to the CPI(M),” Govindan said, addressing reporters here.

He said the issue was between Veena’s company, Exalogic, and Cochin Minerals and Rutile Ltd (CMRL), who made monthly payment to the former for services provided by her company. The payment mode was transparent through bank transactions, he said.

The Chief Minister’s name was dragged into the issue as part of a political conspiracy to tarnish the image of the CPI(M) and its prominent leader ahead of the coming elections to local bodies and next year’s assembly poll, he charged.

The SFIO hurriedly took up the issue pending before the court and filed a chargesheet as part of the political agenda against the CPI(M), Govindan said.

He said such allegations had also cropped up against the Chief Minister just before the last elections, which had vanished into thin air and the fate of the SFIO case will be just the same.

The CPI(M) will politically and legally fight the ‘false allegations’ being raised against the Chief Minister, Govindan said.

On central government agencies moving against the makers of Malayalam film, ‘Empuraan’ for its political content against political violence and religious polarisation, Govindan said a collective of cultural figures have come up in the state against such ‘fascist’ tendencies.

The CPI(M) will support their fight to protect secularism and democracy in the country, he said. PTI MVG MVG ADB