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The Opposition disrupted Kerala Assembly proceedings for the second day on Friday demanding the resignation of Finance Minister and Kerala Congress (M) leader KM Mani, who has been booked by Vigilance Special Cell for alleged bribe-taking.
Left Democratic Front (LDF) MLAs, who carried banners and placards condemning Mani, kept up their demand for the Minister’s resignation until the Speaker adjourned the day’s proceedings.
KC(M) peevedMeanwhile, the parliamentary board of the Kerala Congress (M), which met in Thiruvananthapuram to take stock of the situation, resolved that there was no need for Mani to quit. However, the party’s senior leaders were sore that the Congress party, which leads the UDF Government, had not come to the rescue of Mani, despite his being the top leader of the third largest coalition partner. They rued that the government could have forestalled the registration of an FIR against Mani.
Chief Minister Oommen Chandy and Congress State President VM Sudheeran have reiterated that Mani needed not to resign from the Cabinet.
Serious setbackThe Vigilance case is viewed as a serious threat to the political future of Mani, 81, and his KC(M) party.
On Thursday, just a day ahead of the end of the 42-day deadline set by the Supreme Court for booking those involved in bribery, the Vigilance Special Cell registered an FIR against Mani in the ‘bar bribery’ case.
Charge deniedMani, 81, denied having received any bribe. He claimed that the allegation was the outcome of a political controversy aimed to bring him and his party down from power. On Thursday, Mani, responding to the Opposition call for his resignation, told the media that there was no question of his stepping down.
Biju Ramesh, working president of Kerala Bar Hotels Association who made the bribery allegation, has called for a detailed investigation into it after keeping Mani out of the State Cabinet. He said an ‘honest investigation’ would bring out the large-scale bribery involved. He said the bar owners had raised ₹20 crore to pay bribes.
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