THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The bar scam which had been a bane for the previous UDF government during 2016 has now become a boon for them. Bar owner Biju Ramesh has alleged that KC (M)’s Jose K Mani had offered him Rs 10 crore to withdraw his charges on the scam.
The new revelation has opened a Pandora's box for the LDF. However at the same time, the Congress does not get a clean chit either, with Biju Ramesh claiming that bar owners had given Rs 20 crore to it to reduce the licence fees.
A day after the KC (M) leadership had leaked their party's report on the bar scam where it was claimed that Opposition leader Ramesh Chennithala conspired against its party chairman K M Mani in the bar scam, Biju Ramesh has dropped another bomb.
If the solar scam had created ripples in the state which showed the UDF being trounced in the 2016 Assembly elections, the bar scam has yet again come back with new vigour which is expected to ruffle the feathers of both the UDF and the LDF.
On Monday, Biju Ramesh claimed that Jose K Mani had threatened him at first to withdraw his statement in the bar scam. When Jose realized that he was not going to be cowed down by pressure, Rs 10 crore was offered to him. The bar owner maintained that neither the LDF nor the UDF had conspired against anyone. Biju Ramesh demanded a central agency's probe and said if Jose maintains that there was a political conspiracy, then he would slap a defamation case worth Rs 10 crore.
"Jose K Mani's call came on bar owner John Kallat's mobile when a meeting of the bar owners was being held. I have a threat to my life. Just because I had raised the bar scam, I lost several crores in business. During the previous UDF government's tenure, Rs 20 crore was collected from bar owners to reduce the bar licence fees which was given to the then health minister V S Sivakumar, KPCC office and also to the then KPCC president Ramesh Chennithala. If I had an understanding with the Congress, would I have revealed it? The then excise minister K Babu had threatened me claiming that he will shake my very existence,” said Biju Ramesh.
He also blamed Jose citing that he plays "trading politics" and does not know what is round the corner since he will soon be officially joining the LDF. The bar owner also said that following the bar scam, he had held discussions with the CPM leadership comprising Pinarayi Vijayan and Kodiyeri Balakrishnan. During that meeting, Kodiyeri had claimed that K M Mani would have toppled the then Chief Minister Oommen Chandy and become the Chief Minister. Kerala Janapaksham (Secular) leader P C George had called him once, said Biju Ramesh. However, he denied that he knew Vigilance Superintendent R Sukesan or the then ADGP Jacob Thomas.