A leaked telephone voice message “incriminatingly” urging bar owners to pool money to “sway” the LDF government for a more liberal liquor policy ignited a major political controversy in Kerala on Friday.
It suddenly seemed that comparable corruption charges that rocked the UDF government in 2016 and claimed the scalp of two Ministers had returned in a spectacularly out-of-the-blue fashion to bedevil the LDF government in 2024.
Leader of the Opposition V.D. Satheesan alleged that the contentious voice note circulated in a restricted WhatsApp group populated by members of the Federation of Kerala Hotel Association (FKHA) proved that the scope of big-ticket corruption shepherded LDF’s policy-making more than statecraft or public good.
He alleged that the FKHA office-bearer had sought ₹2.5 lakhs each from its 801 members to raise ₹20 crores for the ruling CPI(M) as a quid pro quo for a permissive liquor policy, including extended bar timings and lifting of the ban on the sale of liquor on the first of every month.
The Opposition has demanded Excise Minister M.B. Rajesh’s resignation. Mr. Rajesh has vehemently denied the accusation and demanded a police investigation into the “plot to tarnish the administration”. He clarified the government had yet to discuss any change in Excise policy.
Mr. Rajesh said the government’s robust effort to collect turnover tax dues and enforce excise norms, including the cancellation of the licence of several serial violators, had miffed lawbreakers in the liquor retail trade who seemed to have an axe to grind against the LDF.
CPI(M) State Secretary M.V. Govindan said UDF’s false script unintentionally revealed its old habit of dangling the promise of a liberal liquor policy to attract bribes from bar owners.
FKHA denies charge
FKHA president Sunil Kumar denied the organisation had initiated any fund collection for paying bribes. He attributed the voice note to an errant member facing disciplinary action.
The scandal has caused a sense of Deja Vu to descend on Kerala’s political landscape. Due to legal and political factors, the 2016 bar licence bribery case came to nought. Nevertheless, the controversy came at a considerable political cost for the UDF, including the resignations of the then Finance Minister K.M. Mani and Excise Minister K. Babu.
Published - May 24, 2024 09:03 pm IST
