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Chandy says no need for lie detector test in solar scam probe

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Press Trust of India Thiruvananthapuram
Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy has asserted before the judicial commission probing the solar panel scam that there was no need for him to undergo polygraph test as he has done "nothing wrong".

"What is the need for that? (lie detector test). I have not done anything wrong. None has doubts that I have done anything wrong," he said to a query during a cross examination.

The CM had deposed before the commission for more than 14 hours yesterday. The testifying that started in the morning ended in the wee hours today.

Chandy made a similar remark on the lie detector test to reporters outside the government guest house.
 

He told the commission that the charges against him and his office were 'politically motivated'.

This is the first time a Chief minister in Kerala is appearing before a judicial commission.

The commission was on its final stage of evidence taking on the scam that broke out in 2013 and caused a huge embarrassment to the Congress-led UDF government.

The Kochi-based commission held the sitting at government guest house here to enable Chandy depose as per his earlier request.

Rejecting charges that he and his office had helped Team Solar Company that committed the fraud, Chandy had said that after the scam broke out, the government had taken steps to bring the 'fraudsters' -- Biju Radhakrishnan and Saritha S Nair -- before law.

The CM had said that his government had ensured punishment to the fraudsters who were committing the crime since 2005 and that the conviction and sentence of the accused clearly showed his government's commitment towards the scam, he added.

Chandy had also hit out at the opposition, saying they had so far not brought before the commission a single shred of proof to support their charges that he and his office had helped the Team Solar Company.

Opposition CPI(M)-led LDF had launched a massive stir demanding Chandy's resignation as the scam took a political turn after it emerged that two members of the CM's staff -- Tenny Joppen and Jikkumon -- had alleged links with Saritha.

Government had appointed retired High Court judge Sivarajan as one-man commission on October 23, 2013, to probe the scam.

The scam pertains to cheating several persons of worth crores of rupees by Saritha and Radhakrishnan by offering solar panel solutions. The duo allegedly canvassed business by using high-level names, including that of Chandy.

While Saritha was granted bail after being behind bars for about nine months, Radhakrishnan is still in jail in connection with the murder of his wife.

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First Published: Jan 26 2016 | 2:22 PM IST

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