"My security is in the hands of the people, I don't want to be away from them," Mr Chandy told NDTV today.



The Chief Minister has rejected all efforts by his own government to upgrade his security cover amid unrelenting protests by activists across the state.

The Chief Minister blamed CPI-M activists for the attack on his car in Kannur on Sunday. He was injured when protesters threw stones and broke the rear windows of his car. He alleges that the protesters had blocked his car.

"I know the CPM's attitude in Kannur for the last 50 years. They are prone to violence. The Marxists will pay a huge price for their violence," said Mr Chandy.

Mr Chandy alleges that the protesters wanted to force strong police action and put the state government in a tough spot. "The police had strict orders not to take any action. They had to suffer a lot to carry out my orders," he said.

Kerala's opposition Left Democratic Front has been demanding the Chief Minister's resignation over his alleged links to two people arrested in June in the solar scam.

The scam - an alleged con job by a pair of entrepreneurs including a woman named Sarita Nair - engulfed the ruling Congress-led United Democratic Front or UDF after records showed that members of Mr Chandy's office were in frequent touch with the couple.

Ms Nair and her partner, Biju Radhakrishnan, allegedly swindled several people and companies by claiming links with powerful people including the Chief Minister, and failing to deliver on solar energy panels they had promised. They are in jail along with Teny Jopan, who was the Chief Minister's personal assistant.

Thousands of photographs showing Sarita Nair sharing the stage with the Chief Minister at a public function last year and whispering into his ear were circulated among the Left protesters in August.