K K Rema criticised the Kerala government's High Court stand in the CMRL payments case. She said it weakened the UDF's anti-corruption position and opposition politics' moral credibility.
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Kozhikode,Oct 19, 2026 10:40 IST
UDF-backed Revolutionary Marxist Party MLA K K Rema has expressed disappointment over the Kerala government's stand before the High Court in the CMRL payments case involving Leader of the Opposition Pinarayi Vijayan and his family, news agency Press Trust of India reported.
Rema said the stand undermined the UDF government's stated position against corruption. Her criticism follows concerns raised by Congress leaders over the government's initial decision to order a preliminary inquiry instead of registering an FIR against Vijayan and his family.
The alleged payments case concerns Cochin Minerals and Rutile Limited. The government opted for a preliminary inquiry after receiving a request from the Enforcement Directorate and maintained this position before the High Court's single and division benches.
Congress MLA Mathew Kuzhalnadan had openly expressed concern over the decision. Kannur MP K Sudhakaran and other party leaders, including Jinto John, supported him.
In a Facebook post on Sunday night, Rema said the government's initial decision to form a Special Investigation Team to independently examine the evidence provided by the ED, rather than register a case solely on the central agency's report, was politically justified.
However, she criticised the government's position before the High Court division bench during the hearing of Vijayan's appeal against the single bench order directing the registration of a corruption case and a Vigilance investigation.
“The position taken by the government lawyer was disappointing and undermined the UDF government's stated stand against the serious corruption allegations of the previous government,” Rema said, according to PTI. She expressed hope that the government would consider the criticism constructively.
Despite the government's preference for a preliminary inquiry, the High Court ordered the registration of a case against Vijayan, his daughter Veena T and his son-in-law P A Muhammad Riyas, a CPI(M) MLA representing Beypore. The Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau subsequently registered two FIRs over the allegations.
Rema said the presence of a leader facing serious corruption allegations at the helm of the opposition was undermining the moral credibility of democratic politics.
“The opposition is as important as the ruling front, and perhaps even more important, in a democracy. It is expected to act as a corrective force against the government. However, those democratic expectations are being shattered here,” she said.
Rema alleged that Vijayan and his family faced serious charges involving monthly payments, bribes and hawala transactions. She said opposition parties should take steps to restore the moral credibility of opposition politics.
She said the allegations concerning payments from CMRL to Exalogic Solutions, a company owned by Vijayan's daughter Veena, were not merely the result of an investigation allegedly driven by the Centre's political interests.
According to Rema, the Income Tax Department's Interim Settlement Board had found that the payments made by CMRL to Exalogic could not be treated as legitimate business transactions. She said these findings preceded the subsequent investigations by the Serious Fraud Investigation Office and the ED.
Rema also questioned the explanations offered by Vijayan and his family about the alleged financial transactions, including details reportedly found in a red book containing information on hawala dealings. She alleged that Vijayan and the others facing the allegations were seeking legal remedies to prevent the registration of a case instead of addressing the charges through the legal process.
She also criticised the CPI(M)'s ongoing error-correction campaign and questioned the credibility of a process led by people facing serious allegations. “The moral credibility of the Leader of the Opposition's office is a matter concerning the democratic dignity of this state,” she said.
Rema said the issue was not about who should occupy the post of deputy opposition leader, but whether opposition parties were willing to remove a leader facing corruption allegations from the position of Leader of the Opposition.
Rema entered active politics after her husband, RMP leader T P Chandrasekharan, was hacked to death in 2012 by assailants linked to the CPI(M). Her remarks add to the debate within the Congress and the UDF over the government's handling of the CMRL payments case and its stand before the High Court.
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