By IANS,
Thiruvananthapuram : Kerala’s 87-year-old chief minister V.S. Achuthanandan said Thursday that he was ready to contest the assembly polls if asked to by his Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M).
“My party will decide what needs to be done and I will contest from the constituency that they ask me to,” Achuthanandan, who represents Palakkad in the assembly, told reporters.
He also expressed confidence that the Left would return to power in the elections, being held in a single phase on April 13, because of the good work that had been done.
“The rule of (Congress’) A.K. Antony and Oommen Chandy was a nightmare for the people. After we took over, we did much more than what we promised in our manifesto and life has become more easy with all round progress in the social and other sectors.”
“The fact that there is going to be single phase poll clearly shows the confidence that authorities have in the law and order situation here,” he said.
Asked whether he would probe allegations by the opposition that his son Arunkumar had taken bribes from the sandalwood mafia, he said: “I had made it clear to them that I will certainly order an investigation if they give the evidence.”
Congress leader Oommen Chandy has written a seven-page letter to the chief minister demanding a detailed probe into the allegations.
“But going through the letter I have found out that there is no evidence. I will now write to them. Moreover, my son is also an Indian citizen and he is going ahead with legal steps against those who had levelled the allegations,” Achuthanandan said.