Oommen Chandy asks Achuthanandan to stop 'lie campaign' or face legal action

Thiruvananthapuram: Slamming CPI-M veteranV S Achuthanandan for spreading "blatant lies", Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy Sunday asked him to stop his "lie campaign" and apologise or else face legal action.

"Achuthanandan is using his election campaign to spread blatant lies. He has stated that there were 31 cases pending against me in the apex court and 136 corruption cases against 18 UDF ministers," Chandy said.

In a statement issued here, Chandy said the opposition leader should make it clear which were the cases pending against him and his cabinet colleagues.

"The truth is that there is not even a single case," he said, adding, if Achuthanandan does not apologise, he will be launching legal proceedings against him.

"If anybody files complaint or petitions in court or police stations, that does not mean a case has been registered. Only if an FIR is filed, it means a case has been registered," he said and challenged the Marxist veteran to produce a single FIR against him.

Against other ministers also there were no cases pending, Chandy said.

There was only one FIR against former Finance Minister K M Mani, Chandy said in the statement.

"Vigilance has already probed the case and filed its report, which is now pending before the court for consideration," he said.

Chandy, who is in the midst of a hectic campaign for the May 16 Assembly polls, said Achuthanandan had also raised allegations against his former adviser Shafi Mather who has filed a defamation suit against the veteran leader.

"Achuthanandan's main programme now is to retract his statements and apologise," he said, apparently referring to the leader withdrawing some remarks made against media personnel yesterday.

"He will also be forced to withdraw the allegation of 136 corruption cases," Chandy said.

Since Achuthanandan has nothing to say against the government and UDF, he was indulging in the "lie campaign", the chief minister said.