Antony a Mauni Baba, says Achuthanandan

KOCHI: Lashing out at Defence Minister A K Antony, CPM veteran V S Achuthanandan on Wednesday termed him a ‘Mauni Baba.’  Achuthanandan said the Congress leader had been maintaining a ‘stoic’ silence on the numerous corruption cases that had hit the UPA Government.“Antony has remained a mute spectator like a ‘Mauni Baba’ when various corruption cases like 2G and Adarsh housing scams hit the UPA government,” he told reporters here. Achuthanandan even alleged that Antony was given the charge of the Congress when party president Sonia Gandhi left for treatment abroad, only because of his loyalty in maintaining silence against corruption.Noting that the Mullaperiyar dam’s safety and the river-linking project were major issues that needed to be discussed, he slammed the Defence Minister for keeping mum on these issues. “Even when the row over the Mullaperiyar dam was at its peak, Antony had nothing to say,” the Opposition Leader said.On the Selvaraj issue, Achuthanandan alleged that the UDF had engineeredthe resignation of the Neyyattinkara MLA only to make way for another bypoll, as they knew that they would lose in Piravom. However, he admitted that the resignation of Selvaraj had caught party leaders unawares.Achuthanandan also charged that the ninemonth rule of the Oommen Chandy government had wreaked havoc in the state.  “The incidents of farmers’ suicide are rising by the day. The government is leading the state to total darkness,” he said.The Opposition Leader further alleged that Chandy had, through Government Chief Whip P C George, levelled charges against Thiruvananthapuram Vigilance judge, who had ordered further investigation into the Palmolein  case.