They say enemies of your previous life take birth as your kids in this life. If one has any doubt, one just needs to look at the political life of Kodiyeri Balakrishnan, who stepped down from the powerful post of CPI(M) Kerala State Secretary on Friday, thanks to the wayward life of his sons.
Kodiyeri Balakrishnan was granted leave by the party secretariat a day after his youngest son Bineesh Kodiyeri was sent to Central Prison, Bengaluru after a special court remanded him in judicial custody till November 25. Bineesh has been in the custody of ED in connection with a money laundering case linked to a drug seizure in Karnataka―a probe that stems from a Narcotics Control Bureau investigation that claimed to have busted an ecstasy pills drug trafficking racket in the film industries across the country.
Bineesh was arrested under the anti-money laundering law on October 29 following the arrest of Mohammed Anoop, one of the prime accused and a friend of Bineesh with whom he has had money transactions.
Following the arrest, the ED has raised a series of allegations against Bineesh. In its affidavit, the ED maintained that Kodiyeri junior operated shell companies and underground business enterprises.
Bineesh, who has acted in some Malayalam movies, had been involved in many controversies earlier, too.
The elder son Binoy, though lesser known, has also been involved in a controversy after a travel ban was imposed on him by the UAE in 2018 following a complaint of a Rs 13 crore financial fraud filed by a sponsor of a Dubai-based firm. He was also accused of rape in a complaint filed by a Mumbai-based woman who was a former bar dancer in the UAE. She alleged that Binoy had impregnated her after promising marriage and later cheating on her. A Mumbai court had ordered a DNA test to prove the paternity of the child, which, for some unknown reason, is getting delayed.
Both the sons have put Kodiyeri and the CPI(M) in difficult situations.
Kodiyeri had washed his hands of his sons’ wrong doings. “If they are guilty, they must be punished. I or my party will not intervene of their behalf,” he had said.
But that did not absolve him of his guilt, it seems if the latest development is anything to go by.
“It is sad to see Kodiyeri paying with his political career for the wrongdoings of his sons,” said a state committee member of the CPI(M).
According to a few, Kodiyeri has been plagued by a host of health issues for quite some time and this is also a reason for him to take a leave of absence at the moment.
Kodiyeri had been the home minister in the previous LDF Government under V.S. Achuthanandan and is rated as one of the best home ministers Kerala has ever seen. Even as the state secretary of the party, he has been very effective as the more amiable but stern voice of the ruling party. He would have been the next CM choice for the CPI(M) after Pinarayi Vijayan. But all that seems unattainable now, thanks to his sons who have been in the news for all the wrong reasons.