THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The political fallout of the bar bribery scam probe, which has explosively strapped the UDF Government while moving into its last year in office, has caught up with all coalition partners in a telling manner.
Even as the Chief Minister and a few of his colleagues remain confident that ultimately there would not be any adverse outcome in the probe, the uncertainty and attendant political damage have badly affected the morale of the ruling combine, which is percolating to the grassroots level also.
The dragging Vigilance probe in the case has created a big divide among the UDF constituents, especially between the Kerala Congress and a section of the Congress, while smaller coalition partners are also disgusted at the turn of events. Conversely, non-Congress coalition partners are steadily gaining an upper hand in the UDF, with the leading partner failing to assert politically. The UDF had reached a conclusion after detailed deliberations that the bar bribery allegations were cooked up by a conspiring Left Opposition along with a bar hotelier. The fact that initial support for the onslaught was derived from some quarters in the ruling camp itself was swept under the carpet. The UDF had decided to ‘expose’ the alleged
LDF game plan to topple the government, by organising meetings and other counter-propaganda recently.
The UDF plan to go public, coinciding with the fourth anniversary of the government, however, has hit a roadblock now over the prolonging Vigilance probe. Kerala Congress (M) has made it categorical that there is no point in approaching the people without a finality in the bar case probe and hence, the proposed zonal jathas should be postponed. The Congress, which is keen to hold the zonal jathas as per schedule, is not in a position to override KC(M), since many deadlines reportedly set by Chandy and Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala in the past three months for a finale to the Vigilance probe have passed.