The K M Mani-led Kerala Congress today continued its tirade against state Congress leaders over the bar bribery scam, calling them "betrayers" who played "Koodiyattam" (an art form) on the issue.
An editorial in the latest issue of 'Prathichaya', the official organ of Kerala Congress (M), lashed out at senior Congress leaders, including former Chief Minister Oommen Chandy and Ramesh Chennithala, for attending the betrothal of Biju Ramesh's daughter recently.
The editorial said Ramesh was the "source" behind the bar bribery allegations targeting its veteran leader Mani.
It noted that the presence of "some leaders" in the ceremony held at Biju Ramesh's residence recently underlined the fact that they have not given much importance to "political decency, political ethics and political honesty".
"Otherwise they would not have attended the engagement of Biju Ramesh's daughter," said the mouthpiece of Kerala Congress (M), a key partner in the Congress-led UDF.
"He (Biju Ramesh) was not alone (in levelling bar bribery allegations)," the editorial claimed, adding, a group of people operated behind the scenes to strengthen his hands.
The Kerala Congress (M) fired a fresh salvo at state Congress leaders, two days after the party's youth wing wrote a letter to Congress president Sonia Gandhi alleging that then Home Minister Chennithala and his colleague Revenue Minister Adoor Prakash had played a role in targeting Mani, who was Finance Minister in the Oommen Chandy-led Cabinet, in the bar bribery scandal that led to the UDF regime's downfall.
Equating the Congress leaders with Shakespeare's Brutus who stabbed Roman general-politician Julius Caesar in the back, the editorial said Mani, in his first reaction when the bar scandal issue came up, had said the allegation against him was a "political conspiracy."
"The vigilance probe into the bar bribery allegations was ordered by those who had maintained that Mani is not involved in the scam. Later, they trapped him in the case forcing him to quit as minister," said the editorial "Ottukaarude Koodiyattam' (play of betrayers).
The rift in Congress-led UDF in Kerala over the bar bribery scandal has been all-pervasive with various organisations affiliated to the state Congress, including Kerala Youth Front (M) directly accusing senior party leaders of bringing discredit to its leader Mani during UDF rule.
