Following arrests of his former secretary in gold smuggling case and party secretary’s son in connection with Bengaluru drug racket, Kerala Chief Minister came down heavily on central agencies.

Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Monday slammed Central law enforcement agencies for using the UAE gold smuggling case as a cover to destabilize the State government. The govt would legally and politically counter the jurisdictional overreach of the Central agencies, he said.

Mr. Vijayan’s criticism of the Central agencies appeared to be the precursor of a major political campaign to counter anti-government propaganda sparked by the multiple probes. It also indicated the start of a protracted legal battle over the limitations of Central authority and rights of States. The agencies had attempted to take over the watchdog role of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India by seeking the receipts and expenditure of various flagship programmes. The agencies had impeded governance by asking officials to turn up with records that do not pertain to their investigations. They acted as if they were regulators of State governments. The agencies had sought information on Life Mission and K-Phone projects.

What annoyed the CM was the Enforcement Directorate’s (ED) recent communiqué to the chief secretary seeking details of four projects of the government - K Phone, e Mobility Hub, Smarty City and Down Town. The central agency suspects that a huge commission was involved in these projects also but the state government fears that more officers and leaders will be targeted by the ED.

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