Kerala's Congress-led UDF Government is yet to decide whether a probe should be held over the allegation against Congress's Excise Minister K Babu that he had taken Rs10 crore as bribe from bar owners. The issue has caused widening of cracks within the ruling coalition with several constituents expressing unhappiness over the way in which the Government is dealing with corruption allegations against Ministers.
The unhappiest among the UDF constituents over the issue is the Kerala Congress (M), third biggest partner of the front, against whose chairman KM Mani, Finance and law Minister, the Vigilance had first held a quick verification and then a full probe after he was charged with taking Rs1 crore as bribe from the bar owners.
Other minor UDF partners are sore over the way in which the Government headed by Chief Minister Oommen Chandy is handling the corruption allegations coming up against Ministers one after the other. They fear that the scams and corruption charges the Government is facing can reflect in the civic polls due in September and the Assembly election to be held next year.
The new development in the UDF follows the disclosure of the statement bar owner Biju Ramesh had given before a Magistrate under Section 164 of the CrPC on March 30 in which he alleged that Minister Babu had taken Rs10 crore from bar. Biju had also accused Babu of taking crores of rupees as bribe over allotment of beer and wine parlour licences for closed bars.
The State Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau will take a decision on whether a quick verification should be launched against Babu, whether there should be a separate probe or whether the new allegation should be included in the ongoing probe in the bar bribery scam on the basis of an examination of Biju's statement and a proper legal advice.
Vigilance Director Vincent M Paul on Thursday received a report from his bureau on the statement of Biju, a copy of which the agency had got the other day from the court. Opposition leader VS Achuthanandan, on the basis of whose letter a quick verification was carried out against Mani, has asked the Vigilance Director to order a probe against Babu.
Apart from that, Biju had handed over to the Magistrate recordings of speeches of certain bar owners in which they had said that bribe had indeed been paid to Babu. The Vigilance's viewpoint is that it will have to start a probe against the Excise Minister but it may choose to make such a probe a part of the ongoing inquiry, according to sources.
State Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala, who is also holding the Vigilance portfolio, said in Kannur on Thursday that the Vigilance would decide on whether any action had to be taken with regard to the charge against Babu after examining whether there was any substance to it. Biju had made allegations of bribery against three Congress Ministers.
According to Kerala Congress (M) leaders, using different yardsticks for handling allegations against Ministers of the Congress and other parties is unfair. They say that it was the same person who had raised the charges against Mani and Babu, that the charges were of similar nature and that the Government should take a just position on the charge against Babu also.
Certain other minor UDF partners are concerned over the several scams the Chandy Government has had to face in the past four years. "Since its initial days, this Government has been on the defensive. These scams are sure to affect the poll prospects of even those UDF partners which have nothing to do with these allegations," said a senior leader of the RSP.