Thiruvananthapuram: The Left opposition in Kerala has begun a 140-day protest near the official residence of Chief Minister Oommen Chandy, in an attempt to pressure him to resign over what has come to be called the “solar scam”.
At first, the Left opposition protested in all the village councils in the state. It then took its protest to the district headquarters, and followed that up with a protest outside the state secretariat.
The Left, led by the Communist Party of India-Marxist, has been demanding that a judicial probe be instituted into the scam — that demand has been met. Another demand is that the chief minister step down to enable “a free and fair” probe.
Although a judicial probe has been ordered, it is being done by a retired judge. Leader of Opposition in the state assembly V S Achuthanandan has said that a sitting high court judge must probe the matter, not a retired judge.
“In Delhi, the Congress was routed in the elections by a new party whose symbol is the broom. With Chandy and his friends turning into a fraud company by aiding people like Saritha Nair and others (the accused in the solar scam), people here will soon come with brooms and drive him away. So it’s best to have a proper judicial probe and not one by a retired judge,” said Achuthanandan, addressing those gathered for the launch of the 140-day protest.
IANS
