Civil case against Sonia, Kerala Congress leaders

Babu Raj, counsel for the petitioner, a local construction company said on Wednesday that Sonia Gandhi is the first respondent in the suit filed recently. The petitioner sought clearance of dues of Rs 2.8 crore in the construction of the Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Development studies complex at Neyyar, 30 km from here.

KPCC president V M Sudheeran, former Chief Minister Oommen Chandy, former KPCC president and present Opposition leader Ramesh Chennithala and Institute Director Hidur Muahammad are the other respondents in the case, Baburaj said.

The complex, constructed by the KPCC, was inaugurated by Sonia Gandhi in 2013.The petitioner alleged that KPCC was yet to settle the pending amount of Rs 2.8 crore.  Asked for his reaction to the filing of the suit, Chennithala said the pending amount will be cleared soon and the matter will be settled outside the court.

There was some confusion over some of the bills raised, he said, adding, "we will settle it."

Congress spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said the suit was an "unwarranted and shoddy" attempt to involve the Congress president. Noting that there is an ongoing dispute between engineers who built the institute and contractor who executed the work, Surjewala said the contractor had filed a civil suit.