Most media channels have chosen to stay quiet on the brazen revelation by former Bar Association president Biju Ramesh’s that he paid Rs 1 crore in bribe to Ramesh Chennithala. In fact, the two ardently pro-UDF channels are busy building defense bubble around Chennithala and 2 former ministers by drumming up an allegedly “proposed bribe” of Rs 10 crore to Jose K Mani. Thus a “proposed” bribe has been pushed to the forefront while actual bribe remittances have taken a backseat, thanks to the smokescreen crafted by Manorama and Mathrubhumi.
Biju Ramesh in a broadcast said he paid Rs 1 crore to then Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala, Rs 25 lakh to VS Sivakumar and Rs 50 lakh to K Babu who was Excise Minister at that time. The monies came from Rs 10 crore raised from the state’s bar owning community to meet Congress demand for the government to refrain from hiking bar license renewal fee, he said. And now, seeking to drown these big bribe deals, Chennithala affiliated media are setting afloat an allegedly “proposed” bribe to Jose K Mani.
At the press conference, when reporters threw up questions over Ramesh’s bribe revelations, an evasive Chennithala said all these were examined once before. And, when asked if he take recourse to law if the allegations were false, Chennithala nearly said nothing.
