True, Mani has said, for form’s sake, that he would extend unqualified support to the UDF Government. But Congress leaders are aware that he is extremely unhappy about having been made a ‘scapegoat’ in the bar bribery case. With the solid support of 5 out of the 8 KC(M) MLAs that he enjoys, the KC(M) veteran can pose a threat to the Oommen Chandy Government. It is a virtual Damocles sword hanging over the Government.

It is precisely to avert the possibility of Mani upsetting the UDF applecart that the Congress leaders led by Chief Minister Oommen Chandy made a beeline to his residence a day after he quit the state cabinet following stringent remarks by the High Court. The mollify-Mani-mission had only one objective: To prevent him from spilling the beans - after all, he is privy to information, which if divulged, could prove disastrous for the Congress - and cause the collapse of the Government.

It is well known that Mani is angry because he alone has been made to quit although some Congress ministers, especially Excise Minister, K. Babu (a Chandy loyalist), are also under the bar bribery scam cloud. While the Government filed an FIR against him in a tearing hurry, it has treated Babu with kid gloves. That is the plaint of Mani and his party.

But the news that Biju Ramesh, the working president of the Bar Owners Association (BOA), is planning to file a case against the excise minister, who allegedly accepted a bribe of Rs one crore from him, must be music to Mani’s ears. It would be a double delight for Mani that VS Achuthanandan has also threatened to move the court against Babu if the vigilance department does not proceed against the excise minister.

Be that as it may, the perception in the KC(M) is that Mani is the victim of a conspiracy. But the party has so far refused to say who hatched the conspiracy although the allusion is to top UDF leaders. Sources in the KC(M) say Mani’s original sin was to set his sights on the Chief Minister’s chair. To realize this long-standing dream, Mani reportedly initiated talks with top CPI(M) leaders with the help of P. C. George, his friend-turned foe and a former KC(M) MLA. KC(M) sources aver that the bar bribery case was the handiwork of top Congress leaders to prevent Mani’s cross-over to the CPI(M) camp to gratify his chief ministerial ambitions. The bar bribery case achieved twin objectives: it put Mani in a bad light; secondly it effectively frustrated his attempt to become the CM with CPI(M)’s help.

The question is: What will Mani do now? His immediate task is to keep the party united. That the party came perilously close to a split during the run-up to Mani’s resignation is an open secret. Mani decided to quit only after it became clear that his senior colleague PJ Joseph refused to resign along with him. The Joseph group MLAs said there was no question of Joseph quitting as there is no case against him. And they also insisted on Mani putting in his papers as there ‘was no other option’. A confrontation would have caused a split; that is why Mani relented.

True, Mani and Joseph have since had a patch-up meeting. And the chances of a division has receded. But it is at best a temporary truce. And the possibility of a split before the crucial assembly elections cannot be ruled out altogether. The reason: the Joseph faction is now in a stronger position. Both Chandy and the LDF are wooing him. VS has already made an open offer to him to join the LDF.

What next, in UDF politics? The answer to that question is clear: there is trouble ahead for the Congress. The ‘giant killer’, Biju Ramesh, is getting ready for a legal battle against excise minister K Babu. Biju claims that he has given Rs one crore to Babu in two instalments to get a government decision favourable to the bar owners.

The Mani episode is notable for the hilarious arguments of the CM and Mani. Chandy claims that Mani resigned on his own out of high respect for the judiciary and that neither the Congress nor other UDF leaders sought his resignation! The truth is Mani quit after keeping the UDF leaders on tenterhooks for full two days, with a threat to withdraw support thrown in. Also, Congress leaders, including KPCC president V M Sudheeran and Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala made it clear that the Congress should not give to threats from Mani. He must quit even if the government falls in the process, they averred.

In fact, a complaint has been filed against the CM in the High Court by CPI(M) MLA, V. Sivan Kutty. His plea: the CM’s comment even after Mani’s resignation that Mani was not guilty amounts to a contempt of court as the HC has okayed the decision of the vigilance court to order further investigation into the bar bribery case.

Meanwhile, the latest rumours doing the rounds have it that Mani is planning to move the Supreme Court to have the remarks against him in the HC verdict expunged. The most damaging comment in Justice Kemal Pasha’s order is: “I am reminded of the Shakespearian saying that ‘Caesar’s wife must be above suspicion’…In a case like this, it is quite natural for the common man to entertain a feeling that there cannot be a proper investigation by a state machinery when the accused, against whom fingers are pointed out, is continuing as a minister’. (IPA Service)