Leader of the Opposition V.S. Achuthanandan on Saturday criticised the government for adopting ‘draconian’ measures to confront the peaceful agitation called by the Left Democratic Front and maintained that court verdicts and observations provided strength to the stir.
Addressing a press conference here, Mr. Achuthanandan said Chief Minister Oommen Chandy was digging his own grave because he had failed to gauge that public opinion was against him. Even UDF partners, IUML and the Kerala Congress (M), and a section of the Congress agreed that the LDF’s demands were justified.
He alleged that Mr. Chandy, through his actions, was proving that he and his family had links with the solar scam. There were several questions that required a proper answer on the part of the Chief Minister, who was hanging on to power in order to prevent further evidence from being brought to light. He said Salim Raj, suspended gunman of the Chief Minister, and former personal assistant Jikkumon Jacob and the Delhi-based Thomas Kurian had not been brought under the purview of the solar case investigation.
Mr. Chandy should explain why he was afraid to take action against Salim Raj, who had been linked to several land scams in Kochi and Thiruvananthapuram.
The Chief Minister should also explain why his government showed haste in appealing against a High Court single Bench verdict, utilising services of the Advocate-General, to prevent the publication of the list of telephone calls made by Salim Raj. Reiterating the demand for Mr. Chandy’s resignation and a judicial probe into the solar scam, Mr. Achuthanandan said the government would not succeed in weakening the Left agitation by deploying Central forces.
