Opposition leader V S Achuthanandan, who made a controversial remark during his reply speech to the denial of permission to an adjournment motion which provoked the Speaker to guillotine the proceedings in the Assembly on Monday, told a news conference later that he was just trying to quote from the affidavit filed by Richi Mathew, former son-in-law of Chief Minister Oommen Chandy about Chandy’s gunman Salim Raj. He said that he wanted to make this statement in view of the development related to the solar panel scam. He said that Richi Mathew had submitted in the Family Court here in connection with his divorce case with Oommen Chandy’s daughter that Salim Raj had loose moral character and he should be evicted from the Chief Minister’s residence.
VS alleged that the CMwas still protecting Salim Raj, who had links with the fraudsters of solar panel scam. “Oommen Chandy claims of transparency in the functioning of his office. But his office has become a safe haven for anti-social elements,” he said. VS said that the Speaker had not given a patient hearing to the Opposition and decided to guillotine the proceedings. “The Speaker is saying that something unprecedented and uncommon had happened. In fact the proceedings were going smoothly,” he said. The Speaker has helped the govt to run away by cancelling the session up to July 7, he alleged.