CPI(M) Workers Attack ED Officials' Vehicle Near Former CM Pinarayi Vijayan's Residence in Keralam

Kochi: In a sensational incident, CPI(M) workers attacked a vehicle carrying ED officials outside the residence of former Keralam Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan in Thiruvananthapuram on Wednesday. While targeting their vehicles, the protesters hurled bricks and stones, shattering the windows. ED raids had been underway at several locations linked to Pinarayi Vijayan since Wednesday morning.

What led to the incident?

As the team began to exit Vijayan's residence in the afternoon, the anger of the party workers and Vijayan's supporters gathered there erupted. They surrounded the ED officials' vehicle and began shouting slogans. Amidst this commotion, stones were thrown at the vehicle, resulting in damage to its windows.

During the incident, the party workers were visibly enraged. The police attempted to pacify them and, with considerable effort, managed to extricate the ED officials' vehicle and escort it away. However, it came as a relief that no official sustained any injuries. The CPI(M) has issued a scathing condemnation of the raids conducted at Vijayan's residence. The party not only lashed out at the BJP but also took aim at the Congress. Condemning the ED's actions, the party described the incident as yet another blatant instance of the misuse of central agencies for the purpose of political vendetta.

In its official statement, the party alleged that leaders who consistently challenge the BJP-led central government—and refuse to bow down to the politics of the Sangh Parivar—are being targeted through intimidation, media trials, and selective investigations. The party asserted that when the BJP fails to defeat its political adversaries through democratic means, it resorts to utilizing raids by agencies such as the ED, CBI, and the Income Tax Department to harass them and stifle their voices.

What did the CPI (M) say about the ED raid?

Meanwhile, CPI(M) MP John Brittas also criticized the incident on social media. On the platform 'X', he strongly condemned the raids conducted at the residence of former Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan. He stated that this serves as yet another glaring example of the calculated misuse of central agencies to harass and target political opponents. John Brittas wrote, "Such vindictive actions expose a dictatorial mindset. Comrade Pinarayi Vijayan and the CPI(M) will not be intimidated in the slightest by these undemocratic tactics. To safeguard democracy, the CPI(M)—with the support of the people—will resist this repressive policy with full force." He also clarified that, in this instance, the Congress leadership actively instigated the ED to target them—precisely as they had done in the case of Arvind Kejriwal.