No change in stand, says Biju Ramesh

Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala Bar Hotels’ Association (KBHA) working president Biju Ramesh on Friday said he stuck to his stand that Finance Minister K M Mani had sought Rs 5 crore for facilitating the renewal of the licences of the 418 hotel bars that had been identified by Excise officials as “sub-standard” and closed since April.

“There is no change in my stand. I’ve given a detailed statement before the probe team. More documents regarding this will be handed over to them later,” Biju told reporters here after appearing before the Vigilance probe team.

Significantly, the Kerala Bar Hotels’ Association (KBHA) yesterday had decided to back the bribery allegation levelled by association working president Biju Ramesh against Finance Minister K.M. Mani.

It was last Friday that Ramesh while participating in a live TV channel news programme said that Mani was given Rs.1 crore to ensure that the 418 bars in the state were allowed to reopen.

Finance Minister K M Mani, however, had denied the allegations, saying that there was a big conspiracy behind it.