Chief Minister Oommen Chandy on Saturday urged the Opposition to withdraw from its stir starting on Monday, as the government had neither lost any money nor had it given any money to fraudsters in the solar scam.
In a statement here, the Chief Minister noted that the special team investigating the scam would be filing charge sheets in important cases soon. If there would be complaints about the investigation on completion, the government was open to examining them.
This had been stated both in the Assembly and outside. So, the Opposition should consider whether it should trouble the people with an indefinite agitation.
Mr. Chandy added that if it persisted with the stir, it would have to answer a number of questions to the people. This was the first time that the Opposition was asserting that all gates to the Secretariat would be blocked. “Is it not a challenge to the people and democratic system?
“Is it not the aim of the Opposition to subvert the government by blocking entrances to the Secretariat. Will not the Opposition be stalling the administration from addressing pressing problems of the people such as natural calamities and price rise. Should not the government take steps to prevent paralysis of administration?
“Was it not ignoring people’s problems and demands by disregarding even the Opposition Leader’s suggestion that an all-party delegation should go to Delhi to submit a memorandum for special assistance, and instead, concentrating on preparations for the blockade.” Mr. Chandy also said the people would ask whether the present stir was being launched because of the failure of earlier agitations by the LDF such as those over Kudumbasree, land issues, participatory pension and the solar scam (day and night stir).
“How could the LDF adopt a method of agitation used by extremist and separatist forces that does not synchronise with democracy. Is it not an irony that the agitation is led by a person who is accused of causing a loss of Rs.374 crore to the exchequer in the SNC Lavlin deal. How many crores of rupees will be spent by the LDF to line up one lakh people before the Secretariat over a scam involving around Rs.10 crore,” he asked.
