Months ahead of the assembly polls in Kerala, the Left Democratic Front government has decided to recommend a CBI probe into cases against former Chief Minister Oommen Chandy and five others, over allegations of sexual exploitation by a prime accused woman in the sensational solar scam.
The state government has on Sunday, came out with a political bombshell and promulgated an extraordinary notification authorizing the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to probe at least five top Congress leaders, including lead United Democratic Front (UDF) campaigner and Chandy, on the charge of rape.
The woman (victim), in a letter to the commission, had alleged that Chandy and others had sexually abused her and allowed her solar firm to make illegal gains when Congress was in power.
Thereafter, the CPM government ordered the registration of criminal cases against Chandy and others, but there was little progress in the cases as the government got adverse legal advice. Also, Chandy moved the High Court, which quashed the case against him and restrained the media from debating the contents of the letter.
The woman then filed new complaints against the Congress leaders and fresh cases were registered. Recently, she approached Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, seeking a CBI probe into the cases.
Reportedly, the “victim” had alleged that the politicians had sought and received sexual favors from her, promising State support for her business venture.
Congress Rebukes the Move
On the other hand, the opposition Congress dubbed the move as being ‘politically motivated’, while citing that the CPI(M)-led government could not find anything against the party leaders in the last five years and taken the decision as elections were around the corner.
Meanwhile, Chandy asserted that he was ready to face any probe. He said that the government had sat on the charges for five years. Multiple officers have found no merit in the accusations and also that the High Court had expunged the commission’s findings against him.
Protesting the said move by the government, Youth Congress workers took out a march to the Secretariat in Thiruvananthapuram and burnt an effigy of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan.
However, CPI(M) state secretary in-charge A. Vijayaraghavan, rejected the charge of political motivation, and told the reporters that it was only a natural course of action to ‘ensure justice to the complainant’.