Pinarayi Vijayan defends M K Damodaran

Thiruvananthapuram: Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan Thursday defended his honorary legal advisor M K Damodaran, who appeared for the controversial lottery baron Santiago Martin in a case in High Court.

He was replying to an allegation in this regard raised by opposition leader Ramesh Chennithala in the state assembly.

"Damodaran is serving as the legal advisor of the CM without accepting any remuneration. There is no bar on him to take up any brief," he said.

Taking on the CM, Chennithala, during a submission, said the principal legal advisor of CM was appearing on behalf of criminals.

"He is now appearing for Martin who was shunted out of Kerala by the previous UDF government," he said and demanded to know what the guarantee that the lawyer would not appear for the accused in the sensational Dalit woman murder case in Perumbavur was.

The Chief Ministers statement assumes significance as the Congress-led UDF opposition and KPCC president V M Sudheeran in particular had launched a scathing attack on him over the issue in the past few days.

Sudheeran had alleged that Damodaran appearing for Martin was a clear indication that the LDF government has a link with the lottery king.

The leader had said it was surprising that LDF was giving more importance to Martin than to the state and the people.

It also exposed the LDF government’s hollowness that it was against corruption, Sudheeran alleged.

Damodaran recently appeared in the High Court on behalf of Martin in a case relating to attaching his assets.