Minister Rajesh lied, Oasis came to Kerala as per govt invite, says Satheesan

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Kochi: The opposition Congress in Kerala on Monday stepped up its corruption allegation against the Left Democratic Front (LDF) government over the Palakkad brewery issue saying the Excise Minister, M B Rajesh, has been repeatedly lying about it.
Leader of the Opposition V D Satheesan said the state government amended its liquor policy with the aim of helping Delhi-based Oasis Commercial Private Ltd set up a distillery in Elappully village in Palakkad district. The company was granted permission last month, and Minister Rajesh has said that all due procedures were followed. Addressing media in Kochi, Satheesan said Rajesh’s claims about the company were lies and cited the application filed by the company as proof.
Satheesan said the company, in its application submitted to the Kerala Water Authority (KWA) on June 16, 2023, had mentioned that it wished to set up a 500 klpd ethanol plant at Elappully “as per Niti Aayog directions and the state government’s invitation”. Satheesan questioned the logic behind the state government’s alleged invitation even before the state liquor policy was revised so as to allow the production of extra-neutral alcohol required for making liquor in the state itself.
“The minister also said that Oasis had got the necessary permission from the central government-approved Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) to avail ethanol. However, the fact is they had submitted the application to KWA as part of meeting the criteria to attend the tender procedures of IOC. The company had already purchased land at Elappully and they only wanted water for setting up the plant,” he said.
Satheesan said the KWA had given the company permission to use water from the KINFRA water supply scheme implemented by KWA on the same day when the application was filed.
The Congress leader said Oasis had, in its bid to IOC mentioned that it was planning to set up plants in Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Andhra. “It was done before Kerala effected a policy change. That is why we say the liquor policy was amended as part of a deal with the company,” he said.