The arrest of Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy’s former gunman Salim Raj along with nine others in connection with the infamous Kadakampally and Kalamassery land scams has sowed panic in the Congress and the ruling UDF, which are already reeling under serious graft charges, in the context of the crucial by-election to be held in Aruvikkara Assembly constituency in Thiruvananthapuram on June 27.
Campaign managers of the Congress and the UDF it leads are worried that Salim Raj’s arrest and reports that the land scam probe may extend to certain top political leaders and pro-UDF senior Government officials could seriously affect the prospects of the front in the by-poll in Aruvikkara where it is already facing a tough battle.
The CBI had on Wednesday arrested ten persons including Salim Raj, his four relatives and four Revenue Department officials in the cases relating to land grabbing in Kadakampally in Thiruvananthapuram district and Kalamassery near Kochi. The Kadakampally land-grabbing is said to be a scam worth over Rs 250 crore.
Even senior Congress leaders are secretly admitting that Salim Raj was very close to the Chief Minister and the arrest is sure to hit the UDF hard in the by-election. “Nobody is going to agree to the theory that Salim Raj is just one of the gunmen Chandy had. Therefore, the situation emerging from his arrest cannot be taken lightly,” a Congress leader said.
The CPI(M)-led Opposition lDF has already made Salim Raj’s arrest one of the chief campaign issues in Aruvikkara. According to the Opposition, Salim Raj had perpetrated the land scam with the blessings of Chandy, who is facing flak over several scandals like the solar scam and bar bribery scam.
Opposition leader VS Achuthanandan accused Chandy of being solely responsible for his former gunman’s land deals. He alleged that Salim Raj, as Chandy’s personal security officer, had misused the Chief Minister’s office, turning it into a venue of conspiracy. He urged the voters of Aruvikkara to give a fitting reply to Chandy and the Congress for this.
Salim Raj’s arrest has given the lDF an opportunity to use the infamous solar scam again, which had brought the Chandy Government to the verge of collapse, as a weapon against him and the UDF. Chandy was forced to remove Salim Raj as his gunman after a probe found that he had been assisting con woman Saritha S Nair, chief perpetrator of the solar scam.