Friday 19 / April / 2024
Thiruvananthapuram: Students and youth activists on Friday staged protests in front of the Secretariat here and in other parts of the state demanding resignation of Chief Minister Oommen Chandy, who is facing allegations in the solar scam, even as police used tear gas shells and water cannons to disperse the agitators.
Protests were witnessed in other parts of the state, including Kozhikode and Alappuzha.
The protest march by DYFI, the youth wing of CPI(M), turned violent here following which police used tear gas shells and batons to chase away the agitators, who gathered in large numbers and pelted stones at the forces, police said.
The main road in front of the state Secretariat in the heart of the city virtually turned into a battlefield.
Many media personnel covering the incident also suffered injuries in the melee.
Shops remained shut in the area and vehicles parked on the road were damaged.
The protesters, who raised slogans demanding resignation of Chandy, engaged in a scuffle in front of the district collectorate at Kozhikode.
Police used water cannons against the protesters there also.
Protests erupted across the state soon after prime accused Saritha, while deposing before the Justice Sivarajan Commission, alleged that she had paid bribes to the tune of Rs 19 million to a close aide of the Chief Minister and Rs 4 million to Power Minister Arayadan Mohammed. Both Chandy and Arayadan Mohammed have denied the allegations.
In a major embarrassment to the Congress-led UDF government, a Vigilance court had on Thursday ordered registration of an FIR against Chandy and Arayadan Mohammed in the solar scam.
The scam pertains to cheating of several persons worth crores of rupees by Saritha and her co-accused Biju Radhakrishnan by offering solar panel solutions.
Meanwhile, BJP on Friday attacked Congress' top brass over solar scam in poll-bound Kerala, alleging Sonia and Rahul Gandhi were protecting "corrupt" Chief Minister Oommen Chandy as they lacked moral authority to act against him since they too were facing graft charges in National Herald case.
Party spokesperson M. J. Akbar referred to reports that Chandy allegedly sent emissaries to Saritha S Nair, an accused in the case, to persuade her from speaking against him, and asserted that the chief minister to had no moral and political right to continue in his office for even a minute. Her statement that she paid bribe to Chandy "proved" his corruption, Akbar told the media.
"We are shocked by the Congress high command decision to protect a proven corrupt chief minister despite the evidence. Perhaps, the reason for this is that high command is also facing charges of severe corruption of thousands of crores in the National Herald case.
"When the high command is standing in the court facing corruption charges, perhaps they have no longer any moral authority to ask one of their chief ministers to resign for the same reason. Otherwise they would have to probably resign themselves," he said.
Referring to the coming polls, he said the ongoing year will be a "year of justice" in Kerala as people will "erase the corrupt government".
Akbar said the Congress government is Kerala is cracking up as he spoke about the resignation of an RSP MLA over these charges.
Demanding Chandy's resignation, he said, "If chief minister does not listen to the voice of people, then the voice of people already growing louder will become an uproar."
BJP general secretary P. Muralidhar Rao accused Congress of being synonymous with scandals and scams.
"Congress is synonymous with scandals & scams. Solar scam in Kerala is now added to the long list of Congress scams," he said.
He also attacked Rahul Gandhi for visiting every other place but not addressing his own party's problems in Kerala.
"Rahul Gandhi before touring elsewhere should visit Kerala. Before raising any other issue, shd address concerns of Kerala people on Solar Scam(sic)," he tweeted.
