A defiant Kerala Finance Minister K M Mani, against whom an FIR had been registered in the bar bribery case, resigned tonight after pressure mounted on him from the ruling Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) to quit.
A day after the High Court upheld a Vigilance Court order for further investigations in the case, 82-year-old Mani, who put up a stiff fight to stay in office, however, had to yield to pressure from Congress, the lead partner which stood firm stating that the resignation was inevitable.
Kerala congress chief whip, Thomas Unniyadan, has also submitted his resignation.
Mani announced his decision to resign after day long parleys with his party colleagues and made it clear that his party will continue to provide unstinting support to Chandy and UDF.
Accepting the resignations, Chief Minister Oommen Chandy, however, said Mani's decision to resign was his own and neither the Congress nor the UDF had compelled him to do so.
Chandy said even though the High Court had not pronounced him guilty in the case, Mani's decision to resign was to uphold high political and democratic values.
