Solar scam: LDF to lay siege to Chandy's residence

Thiruvananthapuram: Stepping up its campaign over the solar scam, CPI(M)-led LDF in Kerala has threatened to lay siege to the official residence of Chief Minister Oommen Chandy from 9 December to press for his resignation. The LDF state committee, which met last evening, also decided to organise two regional rallies to cover the state’s northern and southern districts from 1 to 13 November over the same issue. [caption id=“attachment_1186801” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Kerala CM Oommen Chandy. PTI[/caption] According to LDF convener Vaikom Viswan, CPI(M) politburo member Kodiyeri Balakrishnan and CPI leader C Divakaran will lead the northern and southern rallies respectively. LDF has been on a collision course with the UDF government for the last several months over the solar scam, which pertains to financial cheating by the accused in the case, Biju Radhakrishnan and Saritha Nair, offering solar energy solutions to their clients. The LDF allegation is that Chandy and his office had favoured the accused to cast their net far and wide and garner huge sums from their clients. A staff member in Chandy’s office was among those arrested in connection with the case. In August, LDF had laid siege to the government secretariat here on the issue and it was withdrawn after the government agreed to order a judicial probe into the scam. The LDF later expressed dissatisfaction over the terms-of-reference of the probe holding that the Chief Minister’s Office had been kept out from its ambit. PTI