Congress high command is “worried” over the situation caused by the solar panel scam in Kerala with the opposition unrelenting in its agitation against embattled Chief Minister Oommen Chandy demanding his resignation.
“We are worried over the situation”, highly placed party sources said when asked about the developments in the southern state where the controversy over the alleged scam refuses to die down despite the announcement of a judicial probe.
The CPI(M)-led LDF Opposition in the state has now pressed for bringing Mr. Chandy and his office under the ambit of judicial probe. The LDF is insisting that the main focus of the terms and reference of the probe should be the Chief Minister and his office.
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Mr. Chandy, on the other hand, has accused the opposition of raking up “political demands”. He has been saying that the opposition has a political agenda in connection with the judicial probe in the solar case.
Charging the government with “attempting to sabotage” the investigation into the case, the Opposition is alleging that there were proofs to link Mr. Chandy and his office with the scam and that there was no point in a judicial probe if the CM’s office was excluded.
Meanwhile, a section in the state Congress is also uncomfortable with the developments that have hit the party and the government in the state.
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They want the high command to monitor the situation in the state very closely and act as early as possible so that it does not affect the party’s prospects in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.
Senior Congress leader V.M. Sudheeran had held talks with Congress president Sonia Gandhi and Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi last week to apprise them of issues including the functioning of the UDF government and the party in the state.
Concerned over the developments, both Mr. Chandy and KPCC Chief Ramesh Chennithala were summoned by Mr. Rahul Gandhi to review the political situation in the state.
Congress president’s political secretary Ahmed Patel and AICC General Secretary (in-charge Kerala) Mukul Wasnik were present in the meeting.
The solar panel scam pertains to cheating of many people by accused Biju Radhakrishnan and Sarita Nair, both under arrest, by offering clients solar energy solutions.
They allegedly flaunted their clout with the CM’s office to dupe unsuspecting clients of huge sums.
It took a political turn after the arrest of a Personal Assistant of Mr. Chandy for his alleged links with the accused. A gunman of the Chief Minister and two other personal staff were also suspended for their alleged association with the fraudsters.