Thiruananthpuram: Kerala Finance minister K M Mani has refused to step down from the state cabinet despite calls of resignation from ally Congress party following the High Court's observations in the bar bribery case,
If forced to resign the minister has threatened to withdraw support of his 9 MLAs to the UDF government.
It has become almost certain that K M Mani will withdraw his ministers and positions his party got in the government if he is forced to resign from the government by the Congress.
Earlier, Top leaders of the Congress, especially V. D. Satheesan and T. N. Prathapan, went public on the demands for Finance Minister K. M. Mani's resignation.
Earlier today, Mani told reporters that he was willing to face any investigation and added he was innocent.
The High Court On Monday cleared the decks for further investigation against him in the bar bribery case, observing that common man should not feel that no probe is conducted when the accused is a minister.
Upholding the order of Vigilance Court for further probe, the court said, "Caesar's wife must be above suspicion". An FIR has been filed in the case against Mani.
Justice B Kemal Pasha, while passing the order on a petition by Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau seeking a stay on the Vigilance Court order for further probe, observed that "common man cannot have a feeling that no investigation has been conducted when the accused is a minister".
The court also wanted to know why the government was "worried" about the investigation when the matter concerned was about public money. "Common man should have faith in the system," it said.
