Saritha Nair, who is the prime accused in the solar scandal will be taking on the prime accused in National Herald scam in what is now peddled as the ‘safe seat’ for Congress President Rahul Gandhi whose chances to win Amethi now appear dim. Nair has claimed that despite her repeated letters to Rahul Gandhi asking him to speak up against the Congress leaders she has accused of molestation, he did not drop the silence. She will also be fighting the Ernakulam Congress candidate Hibi Eden whom she had accused of molestation.
Nair has accused various UDF leaders of the then Oommen Chandy government of sexually abusing her. In October 2017, the Kerala government led by Pinarayi Vijayan filed a case of sexual assault against many prominent politicians of the Chandy government.
The cases were built on the letter written by Nair in July 2013 containing serious allegations of rape and sexual assault. Former CM Oommen Chandy, Ernakulam Congress MLA Hibi Eden, former electricity minister Aryadan Muhammed, Konni MLA Adoor Prakash, Congress MP KC Venugopal, and Lok Sabha MP Jose K Mani and former Tourism Minister KP Anil Kumar were reportedly accused of sexual assault and rape.
The solar scam was brought to light in 2013 when the Oommen Chandy-led Congress government was in power. Nair was one of the directors of a company called Team Solar Renewable Energy Solutions which was accused of cheatings its investors of crores for a solar power project. Her alleged involvement in the scam also earned her the monicker ‘Solar Saritha’.
As per the allegations, the company, floated by main accused Biju Radhakrishnan and Nair, used women to lobby with the influential people in the UDF government including the then CM Chandy. The scam involved alleged duping of crores of rupees from people in powerful positions.