KOCHI: KPCC president M M Hassan on Monday alleged the LDF Government accepted Rs 500 crore as bribe from bar owners to reduce the minimum distance of bars from educational and religious establishments from 200 m to 50 m, thereby paving the way to open 469 bars. Hassan, who was inaugurating a protest meet organised by the Ernakulam DCC here, said the government de-notified highways in the state to help bar owners circumvent the restrictions imposed by the Supreme Court.
This showed the government had an unholy nexus with liquor barons.
He also lashed out at petrol companies, saying they were hiking fuel prices by Rs 4 per day. “The state is charging Rs 17 per litre as tax on top of the Rs 29 charged as Central tax. The Oommen Chandy government had set an example by forgoing the sales tax on petrol when the latter’s prices increased,” he said, urging the state government to adopt the same approach if they had any commitment to people.