Former Government Chief Whip P.C. George has directly implicated Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy in the bar licence renewal bribery case.
He claimed that he told Vigilance investigators on record that the Kerala Bar Hotels’ Association (KBHA) had bribed Finance Minister K.M. Mani to favour the reopening of closed bars at the instance of Mr. Chandy.
Mr. George openly aired the allegation in front of television cameras minutes after investigators handling the case recorded his statement in his room at the MLA Quarters here on Thursday. The Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau refused to comment on Mr. George’s statement. However, officials said that Mr. George’s statement had made it more imperative that the agency “record the Chief Minister’s say in the matter” at the earliest.
Complications
Mr. George’s statements had drastically expanded the agency’s field of investigation. The agency’s task to ferret out the truth in the maelstrom of vendetta politics that engulfs the case has become more complicated and fraught with legal and political consequences.
Mr. George said he told the Vigilance that Mr. Chandy had urged bar owners to “deal” with Mr. Mani to influence government policy in their favour. The Chief Minister had also asked them to lobby Excise Minister K. Babu and Industries Minister P.K. Kunhalikutty to favour their business interests, he alleged. Mr. George said that KBHA president Raj Kumar Unni had told him that the organisation had raised Rs. 15 crore from its members to bribe Ministers to sustain their liquor licences.
Mr. George alleged that payments were made to Mr. Mani and Excise Minister K. Babu. However, Mr. Kunhalikutty declined the bribe offered to him, he alleged. He said he had produced his call details and tour diaries to investigators to help them corroborate his accusations.
