The case has been posted for hearing on June 23
Thiruvananthapuram : The Congress party, which has drained all its funds for fighting the recent Assembly elections, has been dealt another blow by a realty firm in Kerala.
The company, Heather Constructions, has taken party’s all India President Sonia Gandhi and the top leaders in the state to court by filing a suit for realising the dues of a building it constructed for the party in the state capital of Thiruvananthapuram.
The Thiruvananthapuram sub-court, where the suit was filed, has issued notices to Sonia Gandhi, former chief minister Oommen Chandy, opposition leader Ramesh Chennithala, Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president V M Sudheeran and three others. The case has been posted for hearing on June 23.
Advocate Baburaj, who filed the suit on behalf of the firm, said that his client had moved the court after it exhausted all options to recover Rs.2.8 crores the Congress owed it over the construction of the Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Development Studies at Neyyar Dam in early 2013. The managing director of Heather Construction had met the three senior leaders in the state several times in the past and was assured of payment; the lawyer said adding that they had failed to keep their word for nearly three years.
Baburaj said that Gandhi was made a party to the suit in her capacity as the All India Congress Committee (AICC) president.
The centre, which was established with the objective promoting research in matters related to developmental politics and economics, was inaugurated by the party president in September 2013.
Ramesh, who initiated the establishment of the institution during his term as the KPCC president, said that the dues to the construction company were not cleared due to a dispute in the payment. He told reporters here on Wednesday that the party would examine the accounts and settle the payment immediately.
