Leader of the Opposition V.S. Achuthanandan has demanded a comprehensive inquiry into all aspects of the government decision to issue licences to 313 bars.
In a statement here on Sunday, Mr. Achuthanandan accused Excise Minister K. Babu of misleading the people by repeating statements which had no basis in facts.
According to the Minister, the licences were granted only to the bars figuring on the list of the Tourism Department. This was “absolute nonsense”.
Among the bars that had received licences were many that did not figure on the Tourism Department’s list.
As many s 48 bars in Ernakulam, Perumbavoor, Thrissur, Muvattupuzha, Kozhikode, and Kannur did not have any classification, as stipulated by the Tourism Department.
These were run by persons close to the Congress leadership whose names he did not wish to divulge for the time being.
The Minister should be ready to publish details regarding these bars.
Justice M. Ramachandran Commission had submitted its report on August 12. The government had not cared to implement any of the commission’s recommendations.
The government’s attempt was to make huge money keeping the report in the cold storage.
It had also shown criminal negligence in submitting the recommendations before the Supreme Court. The Minister was repeating falsehoods to cover up all this, Mr. Achuthanandan said.