Thiruvananthapuram, Jan 19 (IANS) Two audio recordings of telephone conversations between a whistleblower bar owner and leaders of Kerala's ruling UDF released Monday ostensibly showed that the politicians knew about the Rs.1 crore bribe allegedly taken by state Finance Minister K.M. Mani.
Whistleblower bar owner Biju Ramesh alleged in October 2014 that Rs.1 crore was given to Mani as the first instalment of the Rs.5 crore he demanded to help reopen bars in the state. Following the allegation, the vigilance department registered a case against Mani.
The audio recordings aired on TV channels Monday ostensibly revealed that Ramesh had called R. Balakrishna Pillai, a senior leader in the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF), who said he knew about the bribe allegedly demanded by Mani.
Pillai is heard saying he along with his son K.B. Ganesh Kumar - a former minister in the Chandy cabinet - had told the chief minister that Mani was taking bribes from several business groups.
Pillai is heard telling Ramesh that he should not backtrack on his statement, and should approach the Kerala High Court seeking a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) into the bar graft case.
A second conversation involved Ramesh and P.C. George, government chief whip and party vice chairman of the Kerala Congress-Mani.
George is heard saying that even though he defends Mani on TV channel debates, it should not be given any importance.
Following the release of the tapes, Chief Minister Oommen Chandy Monday said no one could destabilise his government.
"My government cannot be destabilised by anyone, because this is a government that has the support of the people. The people are with us as could be seen with our victories in the bye-elections and also in the Lok Sabha elections," Chandy told reporters here.
Chandy also vehemently denied Pillai ever told him such things.
"I have not met Pillai for some time now and he has never said any such thing to me at all," the chief minister said.
Pillai later told reporters that it was wrong of Ramesh to have made a private conversation public.
"I do not deny anything what has been aired. I had told Chandy about this and also of another minister who was taking bribes," Pillai said.
Defending himself, George said all that he did while speaking to Ramesh was to save Mani.
Ramesh said he will hand over the audio tape to the vigilance department Tuesday.
Pakistan defeated Bangladesh by 7 wickets in the 30th match of World Cup 2023 on Tuesday. With th
Afghanistan is one of the poorest countries in the world, but Afghanistan has mineral reserves of
Russian President Vladimir Putin will not attend the G20. According to the news agency AFP, Putin
Putin and Biden will meet, what does Russia want from America?
Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Joe Biden are scheduled to meet in Geneva on Ju
Obama-Modi Vision Document: Shedding of India's Strategic Inhibitions?
New Delhi, Jan 29 (IANS) The visit of US President Barack Obama to India not only resulted in b
Russia fired several missiles at Ukraine on Monday. Many Ukrainians died in the missile attack. M
In the last two years in Britain, the lockdown of the Korana period has had a great impact on sch
The government can give an incentive of Rs 45 billion to foreign electronics companies for making
ED threatens to sue media, British nationals over graft charges
Panaji, Jan 28 (IANS) The Enforcement Directorate (ED) here has threatened to file a defamation
The Supreme Court on Thursday said it will hear in February BJP leader Subramanian Swamy's plea s
