Kochi, Feb 3 : Amid the ongoing row over the sanction to a brewery and other alcohol manufacturing facilities in Kerala's Palakkad, the state's Leader of Opposition V.D.Satheesan on Monday termed Excise Minister M.B. Rajesh a liar.

Responding to Rajesh's statements on the sanction given to Oasis Commercial Pvt Ltd to set up an ethanol plant, a multi-feed distillation unit, an Indian-made foreign liquor bottling unit, a brewery, a malt spirit plant, and a brandy/winery plant at Kanjikode in Palakkad on a 26-acre plot purchased two years ago, the Congress leader said: "Ever since this controversy surfaced, Rajesh has been on a spree of telling lies. He said the sanction was given to the company whose top official was in jail in the Delhi excise policy case after they 'applied' to start a plant here. Then he said they (Oasis) had got the sanction from the IOC."

Releasing the relevant document to rebut the claims of Rajesh, Satheesan said quoting the document which read: "But the truth as per the NITI Aayog direction and state government invitation we are desirous to set up a world-class 500L KLPD capacity ethanol with an investment of (Rs) 600 to 650 crore which would be in PHASEWISE depending on the availability of necessary resources."

"We are enclosing herewith the invitation of oil companies for signing an Expression of Interest for signing a long-term off-take agreement with upcoming dedicated ethanol plants in the states of Tamil Nadu, and Kerala for supply of Denatured Anhydrous Ethanol to oil marketing companies through E tender for your kind reference. Accordingly, we have to satisfy 2 conditions to take part in the E-tender. 1. Land Availability 2. Water Availability," it read.

Satheesan said these two documents are more than enough to prove all that what Rajesh has been saying has fallen flat. "He is a liar and he has now been caught lying red-handed," he claimed.

"This deal with Oasis Company has been worked out by Rajesh with the full blessings of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and there was help coming from TRS leader K. Kavitha who was in jail in the Delhi excise policy case. The requisite sanction from the Kerala Water Authority ' for supply of water, was given in electric speed to the company," he added.

Both the Congress and the BJP are up in arms against the Vijayan government for giving the sanction to Oasis Company as this was a blatant violation of all rules and regulations and against the interest of water water-scarce Palakkad district, and will also cause massive pollution in the area.

/IANS