Thiruvananthapuram, Nov 6 The next 48 hours are going to be crucial for Kerala CPI-M state secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan, as the state secretariat and the state committee meetings of the party are scheduled over two days starting Friday.
Balakrishnan's younger son, Bineesh Kodiyeri, who was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on October 29, will be produced in the court on Saturday. As Bineesh's close aide Anoop Mohammed is in the custody of the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB), reports say that it wouldn't be long before the NCB picks him up also.
Even though the national leadership of Balakrishnan's party has stood by him, the situation has changed after the ED officials raided his house here on Thursday.
With TV channels beaming the events, dramatic scenes by Kodiyeri's relatives were also witnessed outside the house. The officials of the Kerala State Commission for Child Rights also arrived as the raid was on. But all this could not affect the raid.
After the ED ended their 26-hour raid, it was the turn of the local police who stopped the ED officials and said they wanted to take down their names, as they got a complaint that the family of Balakrishnan was held hostage by the ED, but the ED officials asked the police to come to the hotel where they stayed.
Both the Congress and the BJP lashed out at the Pinarayi Vijayan government for using the state government agencies to thwart the ED probe and demanded that Balakrishnan quit his powerful post.
While the state secretariat was meeting on Friday, the state committee will meet on Saturday. The fate of Bineesh will also be known when he is produced before a local court in Bengaluru on Saturday, and what moves the NCB makes on him. The next few days are very crucial for both Balakrishnans.
Hence all eyes are on what will happen in Bengaluru and depending on what happens there, the fate of Balakrishnan will also be determined. As the local body elections here are expected to take place in the first week of December, the CPI-M will find it difficult to move ahead with its election campaign with a 'tainted' secretary.
( With inputs from IANS )
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