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Hooch barons' disclosures embarrass politicians

The disclosures by liquor barons of making regular payments to political leaders have put most parties in Kerala in a quandary in the wake of hooch claiming 35 lives last week.

Left Democratic Front convenor V S Achutanandan admitted that all the parties have been taking money from liquor contractors and the Communist Party of India (Marxist) was no exception. He said that the party would take action against such leaders after establishing the veracity of the seized documents and added that the CPI-M would not protect tainted liquor contractors.

Senior Congress leader K Karunakaran said that the tragedies had made people believe that there was a nexus between the leaders of political parties and the liquor lobby. He said that his party would not give ticket to those partymen, who kept contacts with the liquor lobby.

The approaching assembly elections may have something to do with their decisions.

The state committee of the LDF, which discussed the hooch tragedies on Sunday, severely criticised the CPI-M, which controls the excise and police portfolios, for its failure to check the illicit liquor menace.

It has asked the government to apprehend all the liquor barons who thrived on the illicit liquor business by patronising political parties.

Though the CPI-M is facing maximum flak for its alleged nexus with the liquor lobby, the revelations made by the tainted liquor contractors showed that no party was an exception in the patronage game.

Leaders of the CPI, Congress and even the Bharatiya Janata Party were found to be on the payrolls of liquor contractors.

Documents seized by Income Tax officials from the premises of Attingal-based liquor baron Manichan contain a long list of regular payments made to not only leaders of various political parties but also magistrates, revenue, excise and police officials.

Documents seized in raids conducted on the premises of Manichan last year included the names of several members of the legislative assembly belonging to the CPI-M, the CPI, a Congress candidate in the last Lok Sabha election and leaders of the BJP and Shiv Sena.

Besides this, some of those who were arrested in connection with the tragedy at Kalluvathuckkal and Kottarakkara had also spoke of regular donations to parties and their local leaders. The prime accused Hairunnisa alias Thatha in the Kalluvathuckkal case said she had even invested in the CPI-M's electronic channel Kairali.

Raids on the premises of Abkari Contractors in Pathanamthitta, Thrissur and Alappuzha in 1996 had revealed documents showing regular payments to political leaders. While the leaders involved in those cases had got a reprieve with the state government failing to pursue the matter, those embroiled in the present ones would find the going tough in view of the controversy generated by the deaths.

The people in the affected places are already in an agitated mood. In many places, angry people destroyed liquor shops and attacked excise offices following reports of the recurring tragedies.

EARLIER REPORTS
Hooch claims policeman's life in Trivandrum district
'Liquor queen' held for twin tragedies in Kerala
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Inquiry by HC judge into hooch tragedy

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