Thiruvananthapuram: With general elections only weeks away, Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy has tried to give a clean chit to himself in the Rs70m solar scam, even as he slammed the media in the state as “negative and sensational”.
Chandy blamed the Left opposition for hyping the solar scam through their protests, when it was ‘exposed’ in 2013, but insisted that with time everything had fallen flat.
“We announced a judicial probe and till now they (opposition) have not been able to bring out anything on the scam. They tried their best to make political capital and all their protests to keep this issue alive not only failed but also did not yield any result,” said Chandy.
The chief minister’s office had been at the centre of the scam in which three of Chandy’s staffers were linked to Saritha Nair, one of the key accused in the scandal. Nair, along with her live-in partner, is accused of cheating many investors promising to supply them solar panels worth millions of rupees.
Chandy lashed out at the media in Kerala for being negative and prone to sensationalism, leaving little scope for reporting on developmental issues. “I am not saying they (media) have been unfair to me. It’s the same when it comes to other parties and political personalities. I know they have nothing political or personal but it’s just that they only want to sensationalise news,” Chandy said.
The chief minister, however, said he does not rely on the media alone as far as popular outreach is concerned.
Asked about his party’s prospects in the Lok Sabha polls, his face lit up. “History is going to repeat, and it would be even better than the 2009 result.”
IANS
