Oppn stages walkout over bribery issue

Thiruvananthapuram, July 12 (UNI) The Congress-led Opposition staged a walkout in the Kerala Assembly today to protest the government's apathy towards initiating legal action against Mr K Venugopal, Former Deputy General Manager of CPI(M) organ 'Desabhimani.'' Making a submission on the issue, Mr Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan (Cong) claimed no legal action had been taken against Mr Venugopal who allegedly accepted a bribe of Rs one crore from a Kochi-based private financial institution to settle a case.

Leading the walkout, the Leader of the Opposition Oommen Chandy said the issue was a clear case of corruption and the government hesitated to take action against Mr Venugopal as it had something to hide.

He asked Chief Minister V S Achuthanandan to explain why the government did not initiate legal action against Mr Venugopal even though he was expelled from the CPI(M) for indulging in financial deals bringing disrepute to the party organ.

Replying to the submission, Home Minister Kodiyeri Balakrishnan said though no formal complaints had been received against Mr Venugopal, the government had ordered an investigation against him on the basis of media reports and the Opposition allegation.

The government had nothing to hide and action would be taken against him on the basis of police enquiry, he added.

The Chief Minister said he had nothing more to say about the issue as the police were investigating the case.

UNI