THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Senior Congress leader A.K. Antony has come to the defence of former chief minister Oommen Chandy on the Vizhinjam issue saying that the CAG report was not the last word on it. “No government has fully relied on the CAG reports,” he told reporters in Kochi on Tuesday. He was there to attend the KSU's 60th year anniversary celebrations. "The report released by the Comptroller and Auditor General has to be scrutinised in detail," he said boosting the morale of the 'A' camp.
The ‘I’ group had been trying to push Mr Chandy into a corner on the Vizhinjam contract with the Adani group. KPCC vice-president and MLA V. D. Satheesan had on Monday demanded a discussion on it in the political affairs committee. The Chandy camp suspects the hands of Opposition Leader Ramesh Chennithala and former KPCC president V. M. Sudheeran behind Mr Satheesan’s demand to discuss the issue.
Trouble has been brewing within the party after Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan told the Assembly about the findings of the CAG against the Vizhinjam project. Though Mr Chandy had denied the charge of favouritism towards the Adani group, the ‘I’ camp led by Chennithala was restless. “The ploy of fielding Satheesan and Chennithala feigning ignorance about are a part of the strategy to embarrass Chandy,” said an ‘A’ group leader. Mr Sudheeran has also tried to boost his own image as a clean politician. His silence on the contract shows that he is also hand in glove with the ‘I’ camp, it is said.
