Will quit if chargesheeted,says VS

CPM sources in Delhi said VS has conveyed to the central leadership his readiness to step down after Vigilance decided to file an FIR,but it has advised him to wait till the chargesheet is filed.

Even as the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (VACB) on Friday registered a case against V S Achuthanandan and seven others,pertaining to land allotment to his relative,in the Vigilance court in Kozhikode,the Opposition leader indicated that he would quit if chargesheeted. The case followed a VACB probe.

CPM sources in Delhi said VS has conveyed to the central leadership his readiness to step down after Vigilance decided to file an FIR,but it has advised him to wait till the chargesheet is filed. The party leadership,for now,has decided to defend him,saying the case was politically motivated.

VS is the first accused in the FIR registered under Section 13 of the Prevention of Corruption Act. Besides,the accused face charges of criminal conspiracy (IPC section 120-B) causing disappearance of evidence of offence (IPC 201) and cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property (IPC 420).

VS said the case was an outcome of the UDF conspiracy. There had been pressure on the probe team to submit report before January 15 making me an accused. If chargesheeted,I would not resort to the way of UDF ministers who cling on to power even after being chargesheeted. in corruption cases.