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Thousands of Left Democratic Front Opposition volunteers continued their siege of the secretariat in Thiruvananthapuram for the second day, demanding resignation of Chief Minister Oommen Chandy and a judicial probe into the solar scam.
All major roads leading to secretariat complex have been blocked by protesters, amid presence of police personnel in large numbers.
In a move to avoid confrontation with protesters, the government had declared holiday for the secretariat employees for Tuesday and Wednesday. This was announced by Chandy on Monday holding that preparations have to be made for the smooth functioning of Independence Day celebrations on August 15, for which the main venue is the Central Stadium adjacent to secretariat building.
Even though Chandy announced that he was ready for any probe into the solar scam after completion of the ongoing special investigation team probe, LDF leaders rejected the suggestion and stuck to their demand for his resignation and then face a judicial probe.
After a meeting with top leaders of Congress and United Democratic Front partners, Chandy also said government was ready for dialogue with Opposition to find a solution to end the stalemate. However, this offer had also been declined by the Opposition.
The SIT was all set to file its charge-sheet in seven related cases by this weekend. If the opposition had any objections or suggestions, the government was ready to look into it with an open mind, Chandy had said.
The scam pertains to financial cheating of several people by accused Biju Radhakrishnan and Saritha Nair, both under arrest, by offering clients solar energy solutions. The accused allegedly flaunted their clout with the CM's office for duping unsuspecting clients of huge sums. It took a political turn after the arrest of a personal assistant of Chandy for his alleged link with the accused. A gunman of the chief minister was also suspended for his alleged association with the fraudsters.