CPI(M) activists today waved black flags and squatted on the road demanding state Excise Minister K Babu's resignation, when he arrived here for a function, as part of their agitationin the wake of allegations against him on the bar bribery issue.
A group of CPI-M workers, including women, staged the protest when Babu was proceeding to inaugurate the new headquarters building of the Kerala State Beverages Corporation.
However, the minister attended the function after reaching the venue through a side road. Police dispersed the protesters using canes when they allegedly pelted stones at them, police said. The protesters, including CPI(M) MLA V Sivankutty, were removed later, they said.
Kerala State Bar Hotel Owners' working president Biju Ramesh had alleged that minister Babu had demanded Rs 10 crore in connection with reducing the bar license fees in 2014.
