Corruption remark was not to target anyone: A K Antony

ALAPPUZHA: After triggering a political storm in Kerala with his corruption remark, senior Congress leader A K Antony today clarified that it was only a general statement and not intended to target anyone.

Talking to reporters here, Antony, former Kerala chief minister, said it was only in general terms he had spoken on corruption about which everyone knows.

"It is not my habit to make statements targeting anyone. It was not to target anyone in person or any incident in particular that I made the statement," Antony said.

"No one should give more meaning to my statement than this," he added.

While speaking at a function in Thiruvananthapuram recently, Antony had stated that corruption was growing in all sectors, triggering a wide debate and slanging match in the Congress against the background of the corruption charges being faced by two ministers in the UDF cabinet.

"I had only pointed at certain decaying trends in the society - growing corruption and increasing divorce rates...," the CWC member said.

Referring to the reports of leadership change demand made by a section of Congress workers, Antony said "no one has thought of leadership change."

Antony said there are certain issues in the congress and it can be resolved through dialogue.

"If everyone stands united, UDF can come back to power," he said, adding, state leaders like Chief Minister Oommen Chandy, Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala and KPCC President V M Sudheeran can achieve this.