Thiruvananthapuram: The wave of bribery allegations rocking the United Democratic Front in Kerala is showing no respite, with excise minister K. Babu being the latest to face serious charges of bribe-taking.
The Kerala Lokayukta (the anticorruption ombudsman) has asked the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau to follow up on the recent claim by the Kerala Bart Hotel Owners’ Association working president Biju Ramesh that the association had paid Babu a Rs100 million (Dh5.7 million) bribe.
The ombudsman has asked for a progress report on the investigation to be submitted by June 22.
Babu has denied the allegation and said on Saturday that he would not “hang on technicalities” if indeed an official charge was made against him. Political observers have speculated that Babu may even quit if he is arraigned as an accused in the case.
Earlier, finance minister K.M. Mani came under a cloud after Biju Ramesh alleged that his association had paid Mani a bribe of Rs10 million. Ever since, the opposition Left Democratic Front has been demanding Mani’s resignation. There was fracas in the state assembly when Mani ignored calls for his resignation and went ahead with the annual budget presentation.
Before that, chief minister Oommen Chandy’s office was the focus of media coverage when some officials in his office were linked to the infamous solar power scandal. The opposition held a siege of the state secretariat demanding the chief minister’s resignation, but the protest fizzled out.
Meanwhile, the internal rift within K.M. Mani’s Kerala Congress (M) party has caused more worries for the party and the ruling coalition. Mani has had to suspend his party vice-chairman P.C. George, and George in turn has turned out to be the sharpest critic of Mani and the UDF.
Opposition leader V.S. Achuthanandan has added to the UDF’s woes by writing another letter to the vigilance department demanding that an investigation be launched and a case opened against minister K. Babu based on Biju Ramesh’s allegation of bribery against him.
