Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala Chief Minister V D Satheesan on Wednesday said that it was the High Court that paved the way for the ED notice issued to former CM Pinarayi Vijayan's daughter, Veena T, directing her to appear before the agency, and that the state government cannot dictate the terms of the investigation.

Satheesan was responding to queries at a press conference here regarding the Enforcement Directorate probe into the financial dealings between mining company Cochin Minerals and Rutile Ltd and Veena's now-defunct firm, Exalogic.

He said that CMRL had approached the High Court to stop the probe, but the court dismissed both its plea and appeal, paving the way for the ED investigation.

"So, how can the Kerala government tell the ED how to carry out the probe?" he asked.

The CM said that he had earlier stated that a case had been registered and that the law should take its course.

"That is what the CPI(M) and its leaders are saying now after the ED summons were issued to Veena," he said.

He said that the CPI(M) can face the issue legally or politically, but it cannot disrupt law and order in the state over it, referring to the attack on the vehicles carrying ED officials who had searched Vijayan's rented home in connection with the probe.

"That will not be allowed in Kerala, and the police will take strict action against it," he asserted.

The ED has summoned Veena and CMRL officials for questioning in a money laundering case.

Officials said Veena has been asked to appear at the agency's zonal office here on June 12, where her statement will be recorded under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.

The investigation pertains to alleged irregularities in CMRL's financial transactions and its links with Veena's now-defunct company, Exalogic.

When reporters sought his views on the alleged UDF-BJP deal being discussed in CPI(M) district meetings reviewing the reasons for the party's Assembly poll defeat, Satheesan contended that it was not the main topic of discussion.

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He claimed that, during the meetings, there was strong criticism of Vijayan, party state secretary M V Govindan, former ministers, and the senior CPI(M) leadership for their alleged anti-secular stand.

The CM said that he had told Vijayan in the Assembly that while both the UDF and LDF lost votes in the Nemom constituency, in Chathanoor and Kazhakootam, the Congress-led front gained votes while the CPI(M)-led alliance lost a huge number of votes.

"Therefore, the three constituencies were handed to the BJP on a silver platter by the CPI(M)," he contended.

When he was told that Govindan had claimed the CM was not responding to allegations regarding his links to Adani, Satheesan said he was not going to reply to that.

"Let Govindan say whatever he wants to say. He has to say something. What connection do I have with Adani?" he asked.

Govindan was referring to photographs of Satheesan in Mangaluru with Karnataka Janata Dal (Secular) leader B M Farooq and some of his business associates.

Downplaying the matter, Satheesan said that the person he met has family members in Kerala and was a distant relative of the late Congress leader Aryadan Muhammed.

"We met at the airport and spoke," the CM said.

On the Munambam issue, which has resurfaced following the State Waqf Board's recent claim that the disputed land was waqf property, Satheesan said that the matter was being discussed with all stakeholders.

"Only after the discussions are over will we take a decision," he said.

Kerala State Waqf Board chairman K S Hamza had last month said that the Munambam land is waqf property and that all such properties in the state have been registered on the UMEED portal to safeguard them.

The Unified Waqf Management, Empowerment, Efficiency and Development portal is a centralised digital platform launched by the Union Ministry of Minority Affairs for the registration, real-time verification, and monitoring of waqf properties across India.

The Munambam residents, comprising around 600 families, most of whom are Christians, and the Waqf Board are at loggerheads over whether the land on which they have been living for decades is waqf property.