P C George takes a dig at Jose K Mani

KOTTAYAM: Chief Whip P C George said on Saturday that Jose K Mani, son of Finance Minister K M Mani, is a tender leaf. George said that he joined the Kerala Congress not to call Zindabad for Jose K Mani. "I don’t have any godfathers in the Kerala Congress. I grew up in the party without anybody’s help," he told the media.

"There are senior leaders like C F Thomas and P J Joseph who could become ministers in the party. A person who is not an MLA need not become a minister. Kerala Congress is nobody’s family asset," Geroge said.  Sarcastically rejecting the allegation against Mani, he said, "the party stands firm with Mani."

George said "as a party leader, I cannot demand Mani’s resignation. Mani need not resign in the name of the allegation. If he resigns then he will not be able to make a comeback. The government has only one more year. I have kept in pending my panel against corruption for two months. Controversies in bar scam have blemished the party’s image. Those saying that the allegation has not affected the party are its enemies".

When asked whether Mani would present the budget, George retorted "how many of us will be alive to see the budget presentation. There is no guarantee for that, It is the same with the budget presentation also."  

"Liquor business is not a bad job. My father did the same job for 40 years." He attacked bar association working president Biju Ramesh by calling him a ‘fraud’. "Biju’s father slept in a shanty forty years back. Biju had sold petrol mixed with kerosene," he alleged.

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