Setback to UDF government: allegations that his close aide received Rs 1.90 crore recoil on Chief Minister Oommen Chandy .
Thirvananthapuram : Allegations of bribery that surfaced before the Justice Sivarajan Commission in Kochi, with a witness alleging that she had paid bribes to the tune of Rs 1.90 crore to a close aide of Chief Minister Oommen Chandy and Rs 40 lakh to Power Minister Aryadan Mohammed, have had a predictable outcome. A Thrissur vigilance court has directed the police to register a first information report against both the chief minister and the power minister in what has come to be known as the solar panel scam.
This is a major political setback for the Congress party which is still grappling with the loss of its government in Arunachal Pradesh. Its prime worry is that Kerala is going to have Assembly polls in just three months from now and the scam may not only dent its prospects but also weaken its campaign in Delhi against the Modi government. The BJP, too, lost no time in demanding immediate resignation of the chief minister.
The FIR is to be registered on a petition filed by a social activist P D Joseph who has cited the allegations leveled by solar scam prime accused Saritha Nair. The thrust of Nair’s allegations is that she had paid bribes of Rs 2.3 crores to the two leaders to set up mega solar power projects in the state.
Chandy has termed the allegations as a corollary of a conspiracy hatched by the opposition with the help of bar owners to prevent the ruling front from coming to power. The bar owners had joined hands with the opposition after they lost their case against the closure of the bars by the government in the Supreme Court, he has contended.
The chief minister has also pointed out that Saritha Nair had in 2014 alleged that the CPI (M) had offered her Rs.10 crores for dislodging the UDF government. He claimed that the government had evidence to prove the conspiracy behind the attempt to implicate him. Nonetheless, the government was exploring the possibility of filing an appeal against the verdict in the high court.
T Siddique, the general secretary of the Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC), has even doubted the role of the Thrissur court in the conspiracy. He said that vigilance judge S S Vasan, who had passed the orders, was a CPI (M) loyalist. The vigilance court observed that extraordinary circumstances call for extraordinary interventions. The court noted that law must apply equally to the Chief Minister, the Prime Minister and the village officer, and those who have committed a crime must pay a price.
The Congress High Command is backing the beleaguered chief minister for now. Party spokesman Randeep Surjewala said that the high command had come to the conclusion after consultations with senior leaders that there was no need for the chief minister to resign at this juncture.
He pointed out that the allegations leveled against Chandy and others were before a judicial commission, which was appointed on the united demand of the opposition. He said that the party will seek legal remedies wherever required.
He pointed out that the people who had raised the allegations against the chief minister and his office had not received any favours from the government. The state has also not lost any money in the scam. Surjewala said that the party high command had asked Chandy to submit a report in consultations with senior state leaders and leaders of the constituents of the UDF. The day also witnessed the resignation of ruling front MLA Kovoor Kunjumon, who quit the ruling United Democratic Front citing the corruption that is crippling the government.
