The primary accused in the Kerala solar panel scam of 2013, Saritha S Nair and her husband, were sentenced to three years in jail by a Coimbatore court on Thursday, 31 October, according to The Indian Express.
Nair reportedly floated a company to sell solar panels and is accused of using contacts in the chief minister’s office and names of other influential Congress leaders to buy favours. She faces around 40 cases of cheating in the scam.
A 2017 report by a a judicial commission, which probed the scam, said top Congress leaders in the state purchased contracts and gave out subsidies to Nair’s firm in return for bribes and sexual favours, the publication reports.
In the 2016 Assembly elections, the CPI(M) in the Opposition, had reportedly used this scandal to successfully campaign against the Congress-led UDF. It is believed the scam led to the defeat of the UDF and the victory of the Left, according to the report.
In April this year, Nair had made public her decision to take on former Congress President Rahul Gandhi and contest the Lok Sabha elections from Kerala’s Wayanad constituency. She wasn’t allowed to contest because of pending criminal charges.
(With inputs from The Indian Express)
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