Thiruvananthapuram: People who hounded former Chief Minister Oommen Chandy with fake facts from the letter purportedly written by the complainant in the solar scam must apologise to the late leader, Palakkad MLA Shafi Parambil said in the Kerala Assembly on Monday.
“The CBI report says that there is no evidence to support the complainant's claims (of sexual assault). Those who were part of the witch-hunt against former CM must apologise," he added.
The Assembly was discussing the CBI report on the solar sexual assault case in an adjournment motion.
"CPM leaders, including (former chief minister) V S Achuthanathan insulted Oommen Chandy. The Assembly arena was used to hurl false allegations at him," the Congress MLA said.
He said Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan was two-faced. "The complainant was summoned by the government on the third day after they took over the state's rein," he added.
Speaker A N Shamseer admitted the adjournment motion moved by Shafi Parambil after seeking Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan's opinion.
"We do not have the CBI report at hand. Our knowledge is limited to media reports. But we are ready to discuss the subject," Vijayan said while admitting that the probe was transferred to the CBI by the government as per the survivor's request.
The opposition had demanded a discussion on the CBI report alleging conspiracy against Oommen Chandy in the sexual assault case related to the solar scam. The adjournment motion was taken up for discussion at 1 pm.
Incidentally, Oommen Chandy's son Chandy Oommen took oath as Puthuppally's MLA on Monday. The assembly session, which was cut short due to the announcement of the Puthuppally bypoll, resumed as scheduled on Monday.
The four-day assembly session will pass 14 bills including health-care persons' protection bill and waste management amendment bill.
The solar scam
The Congress-led UDF opposition has been demanding a probe to find out who was behind the alleged conspiracy to implicate late Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy in a sexual exploitation case in connection with the solar scam. The demand by the UDF came as the CBI, which is probing the matter, has reportedly said that some political leaders including Kerala Congress (B) MLA K B Ganesh Kumar were behind the accusations against Chandy that were made by a woman who is the prime accused in the sensational solar scam.
In a report tabled before a magisterial court, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has reportedly named the political leaders who were allegedly behind the conspiracy to implicate Chandy in the case. Following the development, Leader of Opposition in the state assembly V D Satheesan said that as Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan had ordered the CBI probe, he cannot avoid the responsibility of the conspiracy.
Meanwhile, Saranya Manoj, a close relative of Ganesh Kumar, claimed there was no political conspiracy in the matter and that he was hurt by the "unnecessary" allegations against Chandy. Both Manoj and Kumar's names reportedly figure in the CBI report. The Kerala Congress (B) is a part of the ruling LDF. Manoj also told reporters that there were no sexual assault-related allegations against Chandy in the initial letter of the complainant and that Kumar had no role in the matter.
The CBI in December last year had given a clean chit to Chandy in the sexual exploitation allegation levelled by the prime accused in the sensational solar scam. The CBI had earlier submitted referral reports in the court giving clean chits to four other Congress leaders including AICC general secretary K C Venugopal, Lok Sabha MPs Adoor Prakash and Hibi Eden and MLA A P Anil Kumar who were named as accused in the sexual exploitation case filed by the woman. The cases against the six people, including Chandy, were registered over the past few years and investigated by the Crime Branch of the Kerala Police based on a complaint by the woman, an accused in the multi-crore solar panel scam during the UDF government, that she was sexually exploited by them in 2012. The CPI(M)-led Kerala government had recommended a CBI inquiry into the cases in January 2021, a few months ahead of the polls to the state assembly.