There is something almost exquisitely sardonic about the indignation with which the Communist Party of India (Marxist) has greeted the latest instalment in the CMRL saga. One might have imagined the Enforcement Directorate descending upon Kerala yesterday morning, lock, stock and barrel, gunning for Pinarayi Vijayan as though it had suddenly discovered him in the bushes. In reality, this particular story has been lumbering through the institutions of the Indian state for several years, leaving behind Income Tax proceedings, corporate investigations, court hearings and financial records. The ED has now sent a 25-page report to the Kerala Director General of Police recommending a case under the Prevention of Corruption Act against Pinarayi Vijayan, his daughter Veena Vijayan, Mohammed Riyas and others. The allegation is as serious as it is specific. The ED says that the payments CMRL made to Veena and Exalogic were not genuine consultancy payments but bribes received on behalf of her father, amounting to ₹3.28 crore. It says it has relied on financial records, digital material, and statements, including those of CMRL's former chief financial officer. The ED has made an allegation, not proved a case. Pinarayi Vijayan has not been convicted of taking a bribe. But simply calling it a political conspiracy does not make the evidence disappear.

The CMRL affair did not begin with the latest ED report. Income Tax proceedings had already examined payments to Veena and Exalogic and raised questions about whether corresponding services had actually been rendered. The ED subsequently took up the matter under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, conducted searches and examined financial and digital material. The Kerala High Court has allowed that investigation to proceed. So when the CPM says that the ED has suddenly discovered a conspiracy against Pinarayi Vijayan, one is tempted to ask why this conspiracy has required so many institutions, so many........

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