Vigilance should arrest Mani: Kodiyeri

Kottayam: CPI-M politburo member Kodiyeri Balakrishnan Sunday demanded arrest of Finance Minister K.M. Mani over the charges that he had received a Rs.1 crore bribe to re-open the closed bars in the state.

Kodiyeri said: "The vigilance should arrest Mani."

"They should have conducted a raid in the homes of Mani. Senior Congress leader A.K. Antony and the Congress high command are fully aware of the bar graft case," he told reporters on the sidelines of a party meeting here.

Balakrishnan said: "The CPI-M demands that the ongoing vigilance probe should be supervised by the Kerala High Court."

The Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau have filed a case at a special vigilance court against 81-year-old Mani over allegations that the state association of bar owners gave him a Rs.1 crore bribe to re-open the bars that were closed under the state's new liquor policy.

Whistleblower bar owner Biju Ramesh said in October that Rs.1 crore was given to Mani as the first instalment of the Rs.5 crore he demanded for helping the reopening of the bars.