The Kerala MP and All Indian Congress Committee (AICC) general secretary in-charge of Karnataka K.C. Venugopal, on Saturday, said that he will retire from public life if charges against him with regard to the multi-crore solar power panel scam are proved.
The Communist government in Kerala has decided to file an FIR against Mr. Venugopal in connection with the scam. The state unit of BJP protested against Mr. Venugopal, who had allegedly sexually assaulted the prime accused in the solar panel scam case Saritha Nair.
Mr Venugopal, who flagged off the Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) bus service from Bengaluru to Halape in Kerala, said he was in public life for the last 40 years and that there wasn’t a black spot in his political career. The opposition parities had levelled such charges against him in the past, particularly during the Lok Sabha elections in 2014, the MP claimed.
There were several pending criminal cases against the alleged prime accused Saritha Nair. He had filed a defamation case against Ms Nair in Ernakulam court.
About Urban Development Minister R. Roshan Baig allegedly using unparliamentary language against Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Mr. Venugopal said Mr. Baig had not deliberately hurled a Tamil expletive at Mr Modi, but was not good on his part to use such words against the Prime Minister. He said he would seek an explanation from Mr. Baig.
Mr Baig, on Friday, found himself in the middle of a controversy for allegedly using an expletive while referring to Prime Minister Narendra Modi during a public address at Shivajinagar here. The BJP has demanded an apology from Mr. Baig, while former councillor N.R. Ramesh has filed a case against Mr. Baig with the Banashankari police.