KOCHI: It was obvious that the ‘liquor money’ scandal had the potential to create an implosion within the Congress-led United Democratic Front when the Vigilance court in Thiruvananthapuram rejected the recommendation of the Vigilance director to close the bar bribery case against Finance Minister K.M. Mani.
The refusal by the Kerala High Court on Monday to grant a stay on the Vigilance court order has given yet another blow to the charade of normality displayed by the ruling UDF in this regard.
Still, the chorus for the resignation of Mr. Mani orchestrated by the self-proclaimed second-rung leaders of the Congress after the High Court verdict was puzzling.
The same leaders had remained as obedient servants of the ruling alliance when the Vigilance court gave its verdict in the midst of the local body polls on October 29.
They now lament over political propriety and ethics, but at that time they had taken an ostrich- like attitude with an eye on the polls.
After the drubbing in the polls, these leaders suddenly became aware of the ugliness and impropriety of Mr. Mani continuing as finance minister. It is high time that the people of Kerala are spared the political chicanery of the worst kind by these self-proclaimed gatekeepers of morality in public life.
The political classes belonging to both the ruling and the Opposition fronts in the state have been the beneficiaries of the liquor money for quite long.
The policies adopted by successive state governments since 1970s have been instrumental in converting Kerala into one of the costliest places for the cheapest quality liquor.
Some 80 per cent of the excise revenue in the state came from toddy till the early 1980s.
The ratio shifted in favour of arrack by the end of 1980s as the state government discovered liquor as one of the best instruments for revenue generation.
A major shift in the policy was auctioning of liquor shops on the basis of a range. The new policy ensured that individual players are no longer able to take part in auctions as they will not have the wherewithal to raise the resources for taking part in range-level auctions.
The etymology of term ‘abkari-mafia’ in Malayalam lexicon can be traced to such policy shifts. Mr A.K. Antony imposing a ban on arrack when he was the Chief Minister in 1996 was another major policy change that paved the way for the flow of the cheapest quality Indian Made Foreign Liquor with the highest price tag to the state.
The decision by the Oommen Chandy government to impose a ban on bar hotels and restaurants, except the five-star category, belongs to this tradition of policy making guided by financial or political expediency.
The range-level auctioning was guided by financial expediency when the state exchequer was facing the perennial problem of deficits.
The arrack ban was imposed by Mr Antony on the eve of Assembly elections with a clear eye on votes. Mr Chandy turned against bar hotels and restaurants to outwit PCC president V.M. Sudheeran on the run up to the Parliament elections in 2014.
Public health or the cultural habit of the people of the state was never taken into account when such changes were introduced in the liquor policy. Even a cursory glance at the decision- making process would reveal the cynical games played by political leaders on an important public policy issue.
Even the most ardent supporter of the UDF will concede that the state government has gone ahead with the ban on bar hotels in a haphazard manner leading to the present situation.
Mr Chandy will certainly heave a sigh of relief with the decision of Mr. Mani to step down from the cabinet. But Mr. Chandy knows very well that the decision of Mr. Mani is unlikely to be the last chapter in the bar gate scam.
Emboldened by the shameful exit of Mr. Mani, the LDF is certain to dig deep to highlight other murky details connected with the scam. Mr Biju Ramesh, the architect of the scam against Mr. Mani, has already hinted that Mr K. Babu, Excise Minister, is the next target. Perhaps we are in for another phase of ‘binge drinking’ in the form political muckraking.
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