A liquor scam is shaking the Pinrayi Vijayan-led Communist Party of India Marxist (CPM) government after revelations that the political outfit coerced crores to water down the liquor policy to favour the bar owners.
This controversy comes at a time when employees of the government-owned Kerala State Beverages (Manufacturing & Marketing) Corporation Ltd (BEVCO) are committing suicide after not receiving their salaries for the past nine months. BEVCO has a monopoly over retail liquor sales in Kerala.
A voice message from Animon, a liquor barons’ association leader, demanding Rs 2.5 lakhs each from the bar owners to pay bribes, blew the lid on the scandal. Experts suggested that Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and Excise Minister M.B. Rajesh should resign to ensure a free and fair inquiry into the incident.
The voice memo allegedly surfaced after the Federation of Kerala Hotel & Bar Owners Associations’ state executive committee meeting in Ernakulam. The voice is reportedly that of Animon, Vice President of the upper body of Bar and Hotel Owners and President of the Federation’s Idukki District. The voice message surfaced within the organization’s Idukki district group.
The CPM went on the defensive after the accusations of taking crores in bribes. A justification capsule was also released to hide the scam. They claim that the amount was collected to build a headquarters building for the Bar Hotel Association, but it did not find many takers.
Animon demanded a bribe (to pay the CPM) to avoid ‘Dry Days’ and increase bar working hours. Liquor barons in Kerala have been demanding to call off Dry Days for some time now.
The first day is a Dry Day every month, and bars and liquor stores remain closed in Kerala. This is supposedly done to deter people from overindulging in alcohol on the first day of the month when their paychecks are credited.
This is an illogical decision, given that government employees are not paid their salaries on the first of the month. Black marketers have a field day on the 1st. Others buy an extra day’s supply of alcohol on the previous day.
Bars in Kerala are open from 10 a.m. and are supposed to close at 11 p.m. Bevco retail outlets open at 10 a.m. and down shutters at 9 p.m. Even now, several bars tend to remain open till midnight, but ‘unofficially’ by bribing the excise department officials. The government now plans to make this the official timing for bars.
Allegedly, the communists have also hustled crores from the bar owners for their election campaign, promising to bring out a new liquor policy. Speaking of the ‘fund-raising’ that has sparked a political spat in the state, the pub owners said that comparable amounts had also been raised in the past.
Now, bar owners must pay two and a half lakh rupees each. Animon, also the district president of the Federation of Kerala Bar Hotels Association, Idukki, threatened in his WhatsApp voice message that no one would help liquor barons who refuse to pay the amount. Many bar owners refused to comply with the CPM diktat.
Did such threats force bar owners to reveal CPM’s illegal fund collection? The reason the government would want a building for the Bar Owners Association is also suspicious. It became clear that it was a tactic to escape blame.
Kerala has around one thousand bars (excluding BEVCO retail outlets). Allegedly, the CPM planned to collect 2.5 lakh rupees from each bar, around 25 crores.
The policy of serving alcohol in IT parks has also been approved. By giving a license to each park, crores can be collected, too. The cost of a bar licence has increased by Rs 12 lakhs in the eight years since the communist administration took office. At present, the price is 35 lakhs rupees.
As per the ‘special interest’ of the controversial Minister Muhammed Riyas (Vijayan’s son-in-law), another plan is being prepared to serve alcohol in the state’s tourism centres and homestays. Riyas handles the lucrative Public Works Department (PWD) and tourism ministry.
After Animon’s message became public, Sunil Kumar, the CPM leader and the bar owners association’s state president, agreed that the fund collection happened. Sunil argued that Animon was expelled from the organization and that he was asked to collect the building construction money.
However, the association’s state committee that met recently did not discuss the building construction; the new liquor policy was on the agenda.
What Animon Said
No one will help us without paying. Those who can give two and a half lakh rupees should do so. A new liquor policy will come after the elections. Dry days will be removed. What’s due must be given.
Only one hotel from the Idukki district gave 2.5 lakhs, and some paid personally. The organization’s executive meeting was held in Kochi yesterday.
Interstingly, this liquor scam comes when the state drowns after just a few hours of rain. Keralites blamed the PWD mismanagement and corruption for their plight. The monsoons have just begun, and many wonder what might be the situation by the time the rains retreat in late October or November.
