Making it amply clear that the ongoing agitation by the opposition Left Democratic Front (LDF) over the “solar scam” would intensify further, Communist Party of India (Marxist) State Secretary Pinarayi Vijayan on Wednesday sought Chief Minister Ommen Chandy to quit immediately in view of the High Court slamming the government for the manner in which the investigations in the cases are progressing.
In the light of the Kerala High Court on Tuesday casting aspersions over the probe for not delving into the possible involvement of Mr. Chandy in the scam, the Chief Minister should relinquish his post without waiting for a minute to avoid further humiliation by sticking to the high office, Mr. Vijayan said.
The CPI(M) politburo member was addressing a largely attended people, who gathered braving heavy rains, to inaugurate the day-night indefinite “satyagraha” staged at the Market Junction here by the LDF district committee seeking resignation of Mr. Chandy accusing him of having links with the accused remanded in the fraudulent deals connected with setting up of solar panel project in the State.
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The High Court questioning the manner of the ongoing police probe has flayed the stand adopted by Mr. Chady However, the Chief Minister is trying to cling to power even if he had shoulder any amount of humiliation by taking light of the serious observation, he alleged.
Having come to know about the High Court stricture, Mr. Chandy should have resigned immediately instead of waiting till the final verdict is made as had been done by leaders in the past, he said.
Mr. Chandy’s adamant stand comes even when leaders of his own party and the ruling coalition had come out either with divergent stand or keeping a studied silence over the snowballing issue.
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The emerging political situation is unprecedented not just in Kerala but elsewhere in the country, he maintained.
Flanked by leaders of constituent LDF parties, Mr. Vijayan alleged that the solar panel project by Congress leader Anto which submitted to the State planning board for its approval was found to be suddenly taken over the ‘Team Solar’ group promoted by Biju Radhakrishnan and Saritha S. Nair, the two prime accused in the scam.
The Congress loyalist Mr. Sreedharan Nair, who decided to make huge investment in the Team Solar firm, would not have done so until he was convinced of the proximity of Ms. Saritha to the Chief Minister’s office.
In such a situation, the LDF had been clamouring for instituting a judicial probe and demanding resignation of Mr. Chandy till he is absolved of all allegations knowing quite well that a probe by senior police officials like the ADGP or even the DGP himself would not help to bring out the truth, he said.
Mr. Vijayan came down heavily on the role of Director General Prosecution T. Asaf Ali, a former Congress leader downplaying the High Court serious observations accusing him of remaining his subservience to the Chief Minister.
The function was attended by P. Karunakaran, MP, K. Kunhiraman, Uduma MLA, K. Kunhiraman, Thrikapripur MLA, CPI(M) district secretary K. P. Satheesh Chandran, CPI district Secretary Govindan Pallikkappil, LDF district convener P. Raghavan, district panchayat President P. P. Shyamala Devi, Harish B. Nambiar (RSP), M. Anandan Nambiar (Congress-S), P. M. Michael (Kerala Congress), K. S. Fakruddin of Indian National League.