Corruption story doesn't end with KM Mani
In August last year, Kerala's Congress-led ruling United Democratic Front decided to close down all bars as part of a policy envisaging total liquor ban over a 10-year period. The UDF was hoping to make it the single biggest card for ensuring victories in the elections to follow immediately. Still, nobody discussed it in the just concluded civic election in which the ruling combine suffered a huge defeat, mainly because of the infamous bar bribery scam associated with that policy, which led to the fall of one of the shrewdest politicians of the State, KM Mani. Mr Mani, chairman of the Kerala Congress (M), the UDF's third biggest partner, resigned as Finance and law minister on November 10 under pressure from coalition partners, the Opposition and, above all, the judiciary, over the charge that he had taken one crore rupees as bribe from bar owners to keep them in business. Chief Minister Oommen Chandy allegedly tried to the very last moment to protect Mr Mani — who this year celebrated 50 years of his legislative career — by misusing the State’s Vigilance Department, which probed the scam, But his efforts proved futile. However, the bar bribery scam does not end with Mr Mani. If the charge against Mr Mani was that he had taken money from bar owners, Congress's Excise Minister K Babu, a loyalist of Mr Chandy, is accused of accepting `10 crore from liquor barons. Mr Mani has already charged the Government with keeping a “double justice” system: The Vigilance Department held a proper probe against him despite his party's protests, though the charge he faced was ‘only indirect', but the same agency did not even bother to file an FIR against Mr Babu despite the fact that a whistleblower had claimed that he himself had paid part of the bribe directly to him. It is almost certain that Mr Babu, despite his proximity to the Chief Minister, may not be able to cling to his ministerial position for long and may soon have to follow the path Mr Mani was forced to take. Worse, for the ruling coalition, the scandal does not end even with Mr Babu: Charges akin to those against him and Mr Mani have already come up against two more Ministers belonging to the Congress.
This is not the first time Keralites have seen politicians indulging in blatant acts of corruption. But what makes the bar bribery scam the mother of all corruption scandals in the State is its extent and the shamelessness with which those in power are defending and protecting alleged wrongdoers. Still, the people have reason not to be surprised under the rule of the current Chief Minister, who had even gone to the extent of announcing his readiness to go through any humiliation to remain in the chair when he was accused of direct involvement in the 2013 solar scam. Politically, the UDF has already lost the perception war but the real losers are the people to whose trust, aspirations and expectations of honesty these politicians do not attach any importance.