Democratic Front (UDF) moved to target chief minister VS Achuthanandan's son with allegations of corruption and sex scandals. The opposition walked out of the assembly on Wednesday as the chief minister refuted the allegations.
A local television channel, controlled by the Congress, had alleged chief minister's son VA Arun Kumar took a bribe of Rs 7 lakh from the sandalwood mafia in 2003 to settle some cases against them.
"If the CM has nothing to hide, why is he not ordering an independent probe against his son?" opposition leader Oommen Chandy asked before staging the walkout.
Achuthanandan said the allegation was a ploy to deflect corruption and sex scandals haunting the UDF. "If my son was involved in corrupt deals in 2003, why did the then ruling UDF government not book him?" he asked.
The CPI(M)-led Left Democratic Front government has been raking up old cases and ordering reinvestigations against opposition leaders.
Achuthanandan vigorously pursued graft cases against former minister R Balakrishna Pillai and succeeded in sending him to jail. He dubbed the verdict a "personal victory".
He also raked up the sensational Kozhikode ice cream parlour sex scandal case of the mid-1990s, which sent jitters in the UDF camp. The case had brought about the downfall of then state industries minister PK Kunhalikutty of the Muslim League, who was accused of sexually exploiting a woman.
{{/usCountry}}He also raked up the sensational Kozhikode ice cream parlour sex scandal case of the mid-1990s, which sent jitters in the UDF camp. The case had brought about the downfall of then state industries minister PK Kunhalikutty of the Muslim League, who was accused of sexually exploiting a woman.
{{/usCountry}}UDF leaders are now out to expose Achuthanandan's son, who is also the deputy director of the state-run Institute of Human Resources Development with the help of his opponents in the party. They have threatened to make more revelations in the coming days.
Surprisingly, they have the blessing of a faction of the ruling party, led by state secretary Pinarayi Vijayan. Achuthanandan had targeted Vijayan for allegedly receiving money in a case involving Canadian power giant SNC-Lavalin. Vijayan was electricity minister in 1998 when the state signed a contract with SNC-Lavalin.