Kerala bar bribery scam: KM Mani threatens to pull down govt if forced to resign

Kerala Finance Minister KM Mani is refusing to tender his resignation after the High Court cleared the way for further probe being conducted into bribery allegations against him, reports The Times Of India. In fact, he has alleged that if forced to resign, his nine MLAs will withdraw their support to the ruling UDF government, according to the publication, which can result in Chief Minister Oommen Chandy’s government falling. [caption id=“attachment_2487862” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  KM Mani. IBNLive[/caption] Mani heads the Kerala Congress(M), the third largest partner in the ruling coalition with nine MLAs. The party said on Tuesday that it saw no reason for their leader to step down. Party leader and government chief whip Thomas Unniyadan said that the Kerala High Court order on Monday was, in fact, not against Mani but in his favour as the Vigilance Court observations against the state finance minister had been expunged. “There is not even a word against Mani in the verdict. Why should he resign? The High Court verdict is favouring the minister. Has the court said anywhere that Mani was guilty? And, so, there is no reason for him to resign,” he told reporters in Thiruvananthapuram, adding that the verdict had been wrongly interpreted by the media, reports PTI. Referring to the calls in various quarters for Mani to step down, including demands within Congress itself, he countered that “no one had asked Mani to resign”. Asked if Kerala Congress (M) was divided over the issue, Unniyadan said the party was united and “solidly” behind its leader. Meanwhile, Congress mouthpiece Veekshanam, in a hard-hitting editorial on Tuesday, said that Mani’s resignation was “inevitable”. The verdict has come as a big blow to the beleaguered 82-year-old Mani, who has the distinction of being a member of the State Assembly for 50 years uninterruptedly from 1965. Mani, who heads the Empowered Committee on GST, was in Kochi when the verdict came. Reacting to the development, Mani said there was a “conspiracy” against him and he knew who the people behind it were. A meeting of the KC-M Parliamentary party would be held prior to the UDF meeting, he said on Monday. Sharpening the attack on Mani, the LDF Opposition, which has been seeking Mani’s removal from the Cabinet ever since the scam broke, was quick to once again press for his removal. On Tuesday, former Kerala chief whip PC George resigned as MLA, saying KM Mani should follow suit, according to CNN-IBN. Left and BJP workers on Monday took out protest demonstrations in front of the secretariat and different parts of the state demanding Mani’s resignation. CPI(M) state secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan told reporters on Monday that Mani and Chandy should resign immediately, while Marxist veteran VS Achuthanandan said the minister should quit if he had any “self respect remaining.” Joining the chorus for Mani’s resignation were Congress second rung leaders including VD Sateeshan, TN Pratapan and Anil Kumar. Earlier in the day on Monday, the High Court had upheld further probe in the bar bribery case ordered by a Vigilance Court, and observed that “Caesar’s wife should be above suspicion and common man should not have the feeling that no investigation has been conducted when the accused is a minister.” The court also left it to the conscience of Mani to decide on his future course of action after the verdict. An FIR was filed against Mani last year after a “quick verification” by the Vigilance department on the charges by Kerala State Bar Hotel Owners’ Association working President Biju Ramesh that the Minister had accepted Rs 1 crore as bribe for renewal of licences of more than 400 Indian Made Foreign Liquor bars in the state. With inputs from PTI