By IANS,
Thiruvananthapuram : Veteran CPI-M leader V.S. Achuthanandan, who has been arraigned in a land scam case, Wednesday blamed Chief Minister Oomen Chandy and the state’s industry minister for pursuing a political vendetta against him, a charge Chandy rejected.
“(Industries minister) P.K. Kunhalikutty is the mastermind. He is hell bent on implicating me because I have taken up the sex (scandal) case against him and other corruption cases. Chandy is being (used as) a tool. My tirade against corrupt will continue,” Achuthanandan told reporters here.
The state vigilance has already arraigned Achuthanandan as the prime accused in the land scam case involving his relative.
In June last year the Chandy government ordered a vigilance probe after examining all files related to the land transfer to T.K. Soman – a relative of Achuthanandan.
The cabinet also decided to cancel the land allotment at Kasargod district to Soman, a former defence official.
The alleged land transfer took place at the fag-end of Achuthanandan’s tenure as the chief minister in early 2011.
Rebutting the charges of the veteran Communist Party of India-Marxist leader, Chandy said: “We are not settling scores against anyone. The law will take its course and let me ask you one thing, please let me know, if it was Kunhalikutty who gave the land?”.
Meanwhile, the Kerala High Court has asked the state government to clarify why were the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officials let off without being named as accused in the land scam.
A division bench of the high court Wednesday asked the state government to file its reply when the vigilance probe is completed. The case for a CBI probe will now come up again Dec 12 and by then the government is expected to secure more legal opinion on prosecuting Achuthanandan.
Replying to this advocate general K.P.Dandapani said the investigation is complete and will get back after concurring with the vigilance on when the charge sheet would be filed.