BRS MLC and former Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao’s daughter K Kavitha, who was named by the ED as the prime accused in the Delhi Liquor Scam and also went to jail, now on bail, is now figured in Kerala Liquor Scam also.
Leader of Opposition in the Kerala Assembly and senior Congress leader V D Satheesan alleged that Kavitha had visited Kerala in connection with the approval for a brewery unit in Palakkad for the Oasis Commercial Private Limited Company. He demanded an investigation into her stay in the state.
“There were several mysterious deals behind the allocation of the brewery plant,” he alleged, reiterating opposition’s claim that the decision was made without consulting the concerned government departments. According to him, the decision to give permission to the Oasis Commercial Private Limited Company to set up “liquor manufacturing plants” was taken unilaterally by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and Excise Minister M B Rajesh.
Moreover, the opposition UDF on Wednesday released a cabinet note substantiating their claims. The note dated January 15 clearly mentions that no discussion was held with any other departments on the matter, according to the Leader of Opposition.
Satheesan alleged that the state government altered the liquor policy to benefit Oasis Commercial Private Limited, which had purchased land in the area before the policy change. Satheesan wondered that how the company knew in advance that the liquor policy would be amended?
Accusing the government of tailoring the policy to suit the company, he lamented to the Excise minister for defending the project and pointed out that the company has not yet responded to the allegations. He also dismissed the claim by the Excise Minister that the setting up of the brewery project would help in saving a GST loss of Rs 210 crore, calling it a false propaganda, and said that the brewery is not subject to GST.
Meanwhile, another senior Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala also demanded that the government withdraw its approval for the brewery project and alleged a massive corruption in granting permission to a private company.
“The government moved ahead with the project without informing any departments or consulting with its constituent parties. It unilaterally approved the project without taking anyone into confidence. Moreover, permission was granted to a company linked to the Delhi liquor policy corruption case,” he alleged.
Stating that even CPM allies CPI and JD(S) have expressed their disagreement with this, Chennithala also alleged that the government is proceeding without the support of its own allies.
