Leaders of the Left Democratic Front (LDF) called on Kerala Governor P. Sathasivam and appealed to him not to deliver the customary policy address to the Assembly when the House meets in Thiruvananthapuram on Friday, in view of the serious charges of corruption against the Oommen Chandy government.
The LDF delegation, led by Leader of the Opposition V.S. Achuthanandan, presented a memorandum to the Governor citing the charges of >corruption against Chief Minister Oommen Chandy , his Cabinet colleagues, and several ruling alliance leaders in connection with the solar scam and the >bar bribery row . "Almost all the members of the present Cabinet are either facing corruption charges or are under the scrutiny of courts," the memorandum pointed out.
The Opposition leaders said the solar scam and the bar bribery case have been rocking the House for the past two years and that several other Vigilance cases and CBI inquiries against the government were also on. The Thrissur Vigilance Court had >ordered an investigation against the Chief Minister and Power Minister Aryadan Mohammed based on a First Information Report (FIR). The Kerala High Court >had stayed the Vigilance Court order based on an appeal. Thus, the Chief Minister and the Power Minister "are continuing as Ministers based on the stay order of the Hon'ble High Court," they pointed out.
The Budget session of the House would be last by the 13th Kerala Assembly before elections during April-May. The Opposition is planning to use the Assembly session as the launch pad of its election campaign with a strident attack on the government over the scams and scandals.
Emerging from the meeting, Mr. Achuthanandan told reporters that they had told the Governor about the many scams and scandals haunting the government. The Governor, they said, had told them that he would have to discharge his Constitutional duties and that they could use their democratic rights.
