Thiruvananthapuram/Pathanamthitta, April 7 (IANS): Describing as fake a letter shown by TV channels accusing Kerala Finance Minister K.M. Mani's son Jose K. Mani and other politicians of exploiting her, Saritha Nair, an accused in the solar panel scam in Kerala, on Tuesday evening showed the original letter to reporters.
"This is the 30-page letter that I had written while I was in jail. What is currently being shown (in the media) as my letter is fake. In my letter, there is no mention of the name of Jose K. Mani. I will never give out this letter because this is my private property as I do not wish to be a tool in the hands of politicians," said Nair, who displayed the letter to reporters in the Kerala capital.
"I have suspicion on government chief whip P.C. George, who might be behind the leaking of this fake letter, which you people (media) are showing," Nair said.
Meanwhile, Jose K. Mani told reporters in the state capital on Tuesday that neither he nor his party were going to be cowed down "by this sort of political blackmailing".
Earlier in the day, Nair told the media in Pathanamthitta that a particular TV channel edited her telephonic conversation to make it appear that the letter shown on Monday was an original.
She said she would show the "original letter" that she had written to prove that the one showed on Monday was fake and released by people with vested interests "to take advantage of the political situation in the state".
"I don't want to be part of any political game," said Nair.
In the two-page letter, purportedly written by Nair and shown by TV channels on Monday, she accused Jose K. Mani, the Lok Sabha member from Kottayam, and other politicians of exploiting her.
On Tuesday, even as Nair was addressing media persons, some TV channels released another two pages of the purported letter alleging that Congress ministers and legislators also sexually exploited her.
"What has appeared on TV channels is not the letter I had written. When I feel like revealing the names of all those who exploited me, I will do so. But no one can force me," she said.
Nair and her live-in partner Biju Radhakrishnan are accused of cheating many investors promising to supply them with solar panels worth millions of rupees.
The Rs.7 crore solar panel scam that surfaced in 2013 had rocked the Oommen Chandy government as three of his staff members were found to have links with Nair. The three were sacked by Chandy.
While Nair is out on bail, Radhakrishnan is yet to get bail.
Trouble has been brewing in Kerala politics, ever since George, the government chief whip and vice chairman of Kerala Congress-Mani had a tiff with K.M. Mani.
The surfacing of the letter is believed to be aimed at putting pressure on Chandy and Mani not to sack George.
While speculation is rife that George is behind the letter, he flatly denied it and said: "I feel sorry that this letter has surfaced now. A senior ruling front political leader knows that I have nothing to do with this letter."
Nair, George and Jose K. Mani have all demanded that the Central Bureau of Investigation should probe the veracity of the letter.
CPI-M state secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan demanded that police should confiscate the letter and hand it over to the judicial commission probing the solar panel scam.