Kerala is on the all times political alert after the Chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Wednesday said that the cases of sexual assault will be registered against the former chief minister Oommen Chandy and a number of other cabinet affiliates after the high profile solar scam accused Saritha Nair had named them in a letter to a news channel. Sarita and her husband Biju Radhakrishnan ran a Kochi-based solar company Team Solar Renewable Energy Solutions, and are accused of scams where they duped investors from whom they had collected crores of rupees for a solar power project.
The accused Saritha Nair, later had come out in open and had alleged that she was coerced to sleep with many powerful politicians including the then chief minister of Kerala Oommen Chandy and ministers In his cabinet K C Venugopal, Aryadan Mohammed, Adoor Prakash A P Anilkumar, MLAs Hibi Eden, Abdullah Kutty and MP Jose K Mani. She had claimed that all of these high profile ministers had sexually abused her promising business and political favours in return.
The Solar company established by Saritha and her husband started it’s downfall over the years and the couple were accused of duping up to 7 crores of money from its investors. The solar scam has hindered the former Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) government, with allegations that Saritha was able to woo investors because of her closeness to the chief minister’s office. Oommen Chandy’s private secretary Tenny Joppan was also arrested in connection with the case.
If this case is now filed and the investigations happen, the issue has all the potential to be named the biggest sex scandal of the Congress in the recent times. Many political spearheads and former ministers are under the scanner after the letter from Saritha Nair went viral amongst the public.
Former Chief Minister Oommen Chandy has, however, replied saying that, “I am not scared of any investigation because I haven’t done anything wrong.” He also asserted that this actions from the Peenarayi Vijayan government will backfire and the government will have o bear the consequences.
This high profile case has gained more importance in the neighbouring state of Karnataka as well. This is because K C Venugopal whose name is in the list of ministers accused by Saritha Nair was recently appointed as the All India Congress Committee Secretary in charge of Karnataka affairs. It is interesting to see what move congress will adapt with him in the wake of these controversies surrounding him.
