Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala’s Opposition Leader V D Satheesan on Monday called Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan the prime accused in what he termed a criminal conspiracy to target former Chief Minister Oommen Chandy in a sexual scandal relating to the infamous solar scam. In return, the chief minister asked Satheesan to file a complaint over his allegations.
The exchanges happened in the Kerala assembly during a discussion on an adjournment motion moved by Congress MLA Shafi Parambil over the CBI findings absolving Oommen Chandy of the accusations levelled by a woman complainant.
The adjournment motion was rejected, but the discussion saw heated arguments between the treasury and opposition legislators over the scam that rocked the state during the 2011-16 Oommen Chandy regime.
Moving the adjournment motion, Shafi wanted those who hounded Oommen Chandy over the complaint by the woman to apologise in the wake of the CBI findings.
The ruling MLAs’ strategy was to point fingers at the Congress leadership for allegedly targetting Oommen Chandy over the scam.
LDF MLA K B Ganesh Kumar who is accused of plotting the conspiracy against Oommen Chandy refuted all the charges made against him by the Congress leadership. He said he had deposed before the CBI that he did not know anything about the sexual allegations against Oommen Chandy.
Satheesan’s argument was that Pinarayi should be called the key conspirator as he got the complainant demand CBI inquiry against Oommen Chandy on the third day since assuming CM’s office in 2021. Pinarayi refuted the allegation saying no such meeting took place between him and the woman or those associated with her.
The discussion happened on the day Oommen Chandy’s son Chandy Oommen took oath as the Puthuppally MLA.