Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy on Thursday denied the bribery charges made against him by an accused in the solar panel scam. Biju Radhakrishnan, prime accused in the scam, testified on Wednesday that he had paid a huge bribe to the Congress leader, and that he also had videos of Chandy in compromising positions with Saritha Nair, another prime accused in the case.
Chandy rejected the claims and said that Radhakrishnan, an accused in 58 cases including the murder of his wife, had made the allegations because he resented the state government for the cases he has been booked in and imprisoned for. Chandy said he has no right to continue in public life or hold any post if there is even 1% truth in the charges. He also said that he would take legal recourse to bring out evidence and reveal the truth, reported PTI.
Chandy has come under fire from the Opposition in the state assembly. The Communist Party of India (Marxist) has demanded a probe into the allegations made against the chief minister. CPI(M) leader EP Jayarajan said Chandy now has no “moral or legal right” to continue as chief minister.
The solar panel scam came to light in 2013, when a fraudulent solar energy company duped several people to the tune of millions of Rupees by offering to make them business partners, or by offering to install solar power units for them.
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