In a series of events that mirror the bribery case that rocked the Chandy government in 2015, the latest row was sparked last week after a member of the Kerala Bar Hotel Owners' Association (KBHOA), Animon, also known as Jayakrishnan was heard in a purported WhatsApp audio clip asking other members to pay ₹2.5 lakh each to achieve a favourable liquor policy from the government that included extended working hours of bars and abolition of dry days.

"Dry days [on the first day of every month] will be lifted... Only one-third of the money from across the state has come in. Those willing to give ₹2.5 lakh each should inform… Without giving [money], nobody will help us," the voice note says.

The row has pushed the LDF government on the defensive, with denials b by ministers and officials of the tourism and excise departments. The controversy is now gaining an alarming and contentious nature, with suspicions and accusations growing manifold. Meanwhile, the KBHOA denied issuing any directions for collecting funds for a favourable liquor policy. The organisation added that the person has been suspended for working against its interests and dismissed allegations that the money was being solicited to pay as bribes. KBHOA said it was a funding drive to construct a new office building.

The controversy erupted at a time when the CPI (M) government was reportedly considering opening pubs inside IT park complexes and lifting the dry day on the first of every month. However, the state government may backtrack on its plans in light of the row.

The issue has gained political dimensions, as the UDF started demanding the resignation of the PWD and tourism minister and the CM’s son-in-law, P.A. Mohamed Riyas along with excise minister MB Rajesh. With the state assembly session a week away, the government is keen to dilute the impact of the allegations on the chief minister and his son-in-law.

Rajesh, currently on a personal trip abroad, had earlier dismissed the allegations of corruption and maintained that the government has not held any consultations regarding this year’s liquor policy. He claimed the government had not discussed lifting the dry days or extending the working hours of the bars. However, minutes of meetings held between senior tourism department officials and owners of bars and tourism resorts, which have surfaced in recently, suggest otherwise. These meetings indicate that the tourism department, rather than the excise department, was involved in consultations regarding the policy.

The opposition is now targeting Vijayan and Riyas for alleged improper conduct and corruption, apart from unnecessarily meddling in the affairs of the excise department.

"First and foremost, why did the tourism department get involved in the liquor policy, surpassing the excise department? What is the reason behind the unnecessary haste by the tourism department on this matter? Why did both ministers lie that no discussion occurred?" said opposition leader V. D. Satheesan.

Satheesan also demanded that the government order a vigilance and anti-corruption bureau investigation to investigate the charges of corruption, and questioned why the chief minister has kept a studied silence over the issue.

A Kerala Police special team will probe the allegations following a complaint by Rajesh to the state police chief. The team will investigate whether there was any fund mobilisation among the bar owners.

BJP state chief K Surendran referred to the current row as the “second bar bribery case” and questioned Vijayan's silence.

"The allegations (of corruption) are against the excise minister. Yet the excise minister directed the police chief to probe into the leak of the WhatsApp message based on which the crime branch is investigating. What's the logic behind the fact that the truth would come out in this case? So we demand that the state government hand over the case to central agencies for the truth to come out," Surendran told a press meeting.

With the country's highest per-capita liquor consumption at 8.5 litres, compared to the national average of 5.7 litres, Kerala's liquor policies have always courted controversy. Even as successive governments are finding liquor sales to be a major stream of revenue, powerful organisations representing Christian, Muslim, Nair, and Ezhava communities are strongly advocating a total prohibition.

On the other hand, the state's ₹23,000-crore tourism industry demands relaxation on liquor sales and consumption as part of its efforts to promote the state as a sought-after holiday destination. The department says the monthly dry day negatively affects the state's ability to host international meetings, conferences, and seminars.

Sudhakaran said the Left government, which came to power in 2016 with the promise of reducing the availability of liquor, gave licences to several new bars. “In its second term, the government has already issued licences to 130 bars,'' he said, alleging corruption in the allotment of bars.

The BJP leader asked whether consultations by the tourism department allegedly over possible revisions in the liquor policy were discussed at the cabinet meeting and if other constituents of the Left Democratic Front (LDF) concurred with it.

Tourism minister PA Muhammed Riyas said Monday that he didn’t know why he was being dragged into the case by the opposition. “There is a clear agenda behind dragging me into this when it’s a different department that’s concerned with the liquor policy. The tourism department director has made it very clear (that it was a routine meeting with all stakeholders). Not all meetings are approved by the minister,” he said.

While nothing is concrete yet, the state might announce a new liquor policy after the ongoing Lok Sabha polls.

Vijayan said earlier that his government believes in restraint, not prohibition. "The liquor policy of UDF, which envisaged total prohibition, was a fiasco," he had said a few months ago, claiming that the use of drugs has gone up alarmingly ever since the then-UDF government curtailed the availability of liquor in the state.