Congress rejects BJP charge against KC Venugopal
Mr Venugopal has not been indicted by Justice Sivarajan Commission, but his name finds mention in a letter written by Saritha Nair.
Bengaluru: The Congress on Friday rejected the BJP's charge that AICC general secretary in-charge of party affairs in Karnataka K.C. Venugopal was involved in a sex scandal linked to the solar scam in Kerala. Mr Venugopal's name figured in the letter written by accused Saritha S Nair and it was part of the Justice G Sivarajan Commission report, tabled in the Kerala Assembly on Thursday. The report ahead of the Assembly elections in Karnataka early next year has embarrassed the state Congress, with its principal rival BJP raising the issue.
“Venugopal is facing serious charges. Such people should not come to the state. They should be recalled (by the party)," state BJP general secretary Arvind Limbavali said in Mangaluru. KPCC President Dr G Parameshwar said Mr Venugopal had denied the charge many times and it was a four-and- half-year-old case. Noting that the report has also been questioned, he said “the accused, the lady (Saritha) has again raised this issue.”
He said the woman had gone to court demanding a CBI probe, but the Kerala High Court had rejected the application, saying that the case is a political gimmick. The Commission has indicted former Chief Minister Oommen Chandy along with his personal office staff in the multi-crore solar panel scam, holding they all had "assisted" Saritha in "cheating" customers.
Mr Venugopal has described the charge as false and fabricated, while Chandy has maintained that he has not done anything wrong. The “solar scam” had rocked the Chandy government before it lost power in May 2016 after reports surfaced in June 2013 that three of the CMs office staff were involved in alleged duping of several persons of crores of rupees by Saritha and her accomplice Biju Radhakrishnan by offering solar panel solutions.
The report includes details of the controversial letter written by Saritha on July 19, 2013, in which she had levelled serious sexual and corruption charges against a dozen Congress leaders, including state and union ministers and two senior IPS officers.