THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Excise Minister K Babu said on Tuesday that there was no need for him to resign since Kerala Bar Hotels Association (KBHA) working president Biju Ramesh, in his secret statement to the Vigilance special court, had not accused him of accepting a bribe.
“Is there a case against me? Nowhere is it said in the statement that I’ve accepted a bribe of `10 crore from him. Where was this money given on my instruction? Who accepted it? Nothing is said,” Babu told a press conference here.
Babu said that since the courts were on vacation till May 20, he was trying to file a case against Biju in the vacation court. In his statement Biju Ramesh had alleged that Babu had sought `10 crore for fixing the bar licence fee at `23 lakh and not raising it to `30 lakh. Citing minutes of various meetings, Babu denied this charge. He said that it was decided to hike the annual rental of FL-3 licence (bar licence) from `22 lakh to `23 lakh at a departmental meeting he had convened on March 6, 2013. This decision was based on a proposal submitted by Excise Commissioner on January 29, 2013, that fee should be hiked to `25 lakh.
Additionally, there is no ‘precedent’ of hiking the bar licence fee by `8 lakh in the state, he added. “Between April 1, 1996, and March 31, 2007, a period of 11 years, the fee rose by only `8 lakh. Between 2007 and 2013, a period of six years, it saw an increase by another `4 lakh. So is it practical to say that the government was planning to hike the fee by `8 lakh at one go?,” he asked.
He also denied that any ‘informal’ discussion was held with the bar owners on the issue of licence fee hike.
Babu also denied that there was a conspiracy against him from within the government, but said that Biju Ramesh was attempting blackmail.
‘No Need for Separate Probe’
The Vigilance received legal advice on Tuesday that no separate investigation needs be conducted into the corruption allegation levelled against Excise Minister K Babu by bar owner Biju Ramesh. The charge against Babu can be investigated alongside the ongoing probe into the bar bribery scam, according to the advice. Also, there was no need for an investigation against Health Minister V S Sivakumar, the Vigilance was advised.