Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI-M] Polit Bureau member Pinarayi Vijayan has demanded the removal of Excise Minister K. Babu from the Cabinet and order a probe against him in the wake of the disclosures made by Kerala Bar Hotels’ Association leader Biju Ramesh in the bar bribery case.
Addressing a news conference in Kozhikode on Tuesday, Mr. Vijayan demanded that the State government order an impartial inquiry into the allegations that two more Congress Ministers were involved in the scandal. Previously, it was thought that apart from Finance Minister K.M. Mani, the Excise Minister could also be involved. This was because no shady dealings could take place without the knowledge of the Excise Minister in the issue of re-opening closed bars. Investigations should be conducted in a proper manner instead of a farcical quick verification report, he said.
The Excise Minister was in the forefront whenever Chief Minister Oommen Chandy faced a political crisis. “The Chief Minister is the Excise Minister himself. Mr. Babu is only a proxy. Mr. Chandy is the de-facto Excise Minister,” Mr. Vijayan said.
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On Monday, Mr. Ramesh had given a statement before the judicial magistrate under Section 164 of the Code of Criminal Procedure that Mr. Mani’s son, Jose K. Mani, MP, had tried to influence a witness in the case. He had also submitted evidence against four Ministers, including Mr. Mani and Mr. Babu.
Mr. Vijayan said that a team involving senior IPS officers should conduct an impartial inquiry into the role of two other Congress Ministers. The CPI(M) leader dropped enough hints that the two Congress Ministers were Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala and Health Minister V.S. Sivakumar, but expressed doubts whether the probe would be carried out properly if one of the Ministers handled the Home Department portfolio.