Solar scam returns to haunt Congress in Kerala

The solar scam that rocked Kerala for several months last year has returned to haunt the Congress with All India Congress Committee (AICC) secretary Shanimol Usman demanding a probe into the allegations that Federal Junior of State for Civil Aviation K.C. Venugopal had sexual relations with prime accused Saritha S. Nair.

The solar scam relates to cheating several people of millions of rupees by Saritha and her live-in-partner Biju Radhakrishnan by promising to provide solar power solutions. Though names of some ministers, legislators and leaders had figured in connection with the scam, action was taken only against four members of Chief Minister Oommen Chandy’s personal staff.

Shanimol raked up the political links of Saritha after she was accused by the Aleppey District Congress Committee (DCC) of abstaining from campaigning for the federal minister. She raised the issue at a meeting of the Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) executive convened here on Tuesday to assess the party’s performance in the Lok Sabha election. Explaining her difficulty in defending her party colleague over his unholy links with the solar scam accused, Shanimol urged the KPCC to set up a commission to probe the allegations leveled against the junior minister by many before the elections.

The allegation was raised openly by Biju Radhakrishan, who is now serving life-term for murdering his first wife. Later his counsel Jacob Mathew claimed to possess video tape showing Saritha in compromising positions with not only Venguopal but also State Tourism Minister A.P. Anil Kumar and former minister K.B. Ganesh Kumar. Both the ministers had challenged the lawyer to make the video visuals public. They also threatened to sue him for defaming them but nothing happened afterwards.

After coming out on bail, Saritha alleged that several Congress leaders had indecently behaved with her. The names of Venugopal and Anil Kumar did not figure in her list. Top in her list was Kannur MLA AP Abdulla Kutty, who was accused of raping her in a hotel in the state capital of Trivandrum.

However, Saritha did not show any interest in pursuing the complaint she lodged with the Trivandrum police. She failed to respond to several notices sent by a special investigation team to record her testimony. A court has now directed her to appear before it on April 28 and give her statement on her allegations.

Saritha reportedly told the KPCC executive that Venugopal and Aleppey DCC president A. Shukoor had kept her away from the campaign. She accused Shukoor of acting like a servant of Venugopal. She has expressed doubt whether the party will be able to retain the winning margin in the constituency.

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