E-Paper
LDF, UDF trade barbs over charges of conspiracy bid in solar scandal
Leader of Opposition VD Satheesan demanded that the state government allow the CBI to probe the allegations of criminal conspiracy in the case
Heated discussions took place between the ruling Left Democratic Front (LDF) and opposition Untied Democratic Front (UDF) camps in the Kerala Assembly on Monday over allegations of conspiracy to implicate late former chief minister Oommen Chandy in a sexual exploitation case connected to the solar scam that broke out in 2013.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which had probed the allegation of sexual abuse levelled by a woman, who is the prime accused in the solar scam and had gone on to exonerate Chandy in the case, reportedly named a few political leaders who conspired to trap the former chief minister. The report was submitted by the agency in a magisterial court in Thiruvananthapuram in December last year.
Moving an adjournment motion in the House on the issue, Congress MLA Shafi Parambil cited the CBI report’s findings to allege that fake letters written by the complainant in the sexual assault case were exploited to harass Chandy when he was the chief minister.
Parambil said, “A man who led a transparent, clean, and honest life of public service was showered with abuses and mocked by using a sexual assault complaint when he had crossed the age of 70. Those who used the six fake letters drafted by a woman swindler to attack him [Chandy] will never be forgiven by the state’s public...CBI report clearly states that a power broker named Nandakumar paid the complainant ₹50 lakh in exchange for the letters [of alleged sexual abuse] she wrote. Why was that power broker allowed to get an appointment for the complainant at the chief minister’s office on the third day the CM took charge?”
“When even the state police and the crime branch concluded that there was no strength to the allegations [against Chandy], why was the LDF government in such a hurry to hand over the case to the CBI?” asked Parambil.
Leader of Opposition VD Satheesan demanded that the state government allow the CBI to probe the allegations of criminal conspiracy in the case. He alleged that chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan is the number one accused in the case because he invited the complainant to his office and got the letters from her, which the CBI has now proved are fake.
“The crux of the CBI report is the criminal conspiracy. Where did it start? In 2016, on the third day of taking charge, the CM meets the complainant. Corporate power broker Nandakumar is the middleman. The complaint is drafted there itself and received,” said Satheesan, alleging that the fake complaint was manifested by the Communist Party of India (Marxist) to humiliate opposition leaders.
In response to this, chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan pointed out that the state government does not have access to the said report of the CBI, the findings of which have been mentioned in the local media. But at the same time, he said, that necessary action can be taken on alleged criminal conspiracy after legal examination. “It was after three months of taking charge [as CM] that the complaint related to the solar scam came. Apart from taking action on the complaint, I have not made any kind of political intervention during the investigation process. You [UDF] are saying that there was a conspiracy and that a probe is necessary. You can go ahead and raise the findings of the said CBI report. After examining it legally, necessary steps can be taken,” said the chief minister.
