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THIRUVANANTHAPURAM -- KM Mani who recently resigned as Kerala's Finance Minister, swatted away the corruption charges against him in the bar bribery case, asserting that he did not receive any bribe and was being 'persecuted'.
He maintained that he had been under no duress to resign and that he would remain loyal to the United Democratic Front (UDF)
"UDF has not denied me any justice and I have been dealt fairly by my own party. I was under no pressure from my party whatsoever to resign, it was a voluntary decision," Mani told the reporters here.
Talking about the bar bribery allegations that are being leveled against Excise Minister K. Babu, Mani refused to react saying it was not the 'right time' for him to judge the conduct of other party men.
Hotelier Biju Ramesh, who had accused Mani of taking bribe for reducing licence fees of bar hotels, alleged charges against Babu as well saying he was part of the same scandal and had accepted a bribe as well.
However, Babu has brushed aside the charges against him saying all the allegations against him are baseless.
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Public Corruption Scandals And Sentences
William J. Jefferson(01 of11)
Position: U.S. House of Representatives, LouisianaSentence: 13 yearsFormer Congressman William J. Jefferson was sentenced to 13 years in prison after famously hiding $90,000 in his freezer. The veteran representative, who had served Louisiana for almost two decades, was convicted of accepting at least $500,000 in bribes and wagering to win millions more in exchange for brokering business deals in Africa.Caption: Rep. William Jefferson (D-La.) who accompanied President Bush, not shown, during a visit to the Samuel J. Green charter school in New Orleans, La., waits for the president to speak, Thursday, March 1, 2007. (credit:AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)
Rod Blagojevich(02 of11)
Position: Governor of IllinoisSentence: 14 yearsThe Justice Department's case against the former governor of Illinois said Rod Blagojevich attempted to solicit bribes to fill Barack Obama's vacant Senate seat. He was impeached by the Illinois legislature on January 30, 2009. Blagojevich was sentenced to 14 years in prison. Caption: Blagojevich speaks to the media outside his home in Chicago, as his wife Patti wipes away her tears a day before he was to report to a prison in Littleton,. Colo., to begin a 14-year prison sentence on corruption charges. Lawyers for Blagojevich are working to meet a deadline Monday, July 15, 2013, to file what could be a 100-page appeal calling for the ex-governor's corruption convictions to be tossed or for his 14-year sentence to be reduced. (credit:AP Photo/M. Spencer Green, File)
George Ryan(03 of11)
Position: Governor of IllinoisSentence: 6 1/2 yearsGovernor of Illinois before Rod Blagojevich, Ryan was sentenced to 6 1/2 years in prison for steering business in exchange for accepting gifts, vacations and cash. He was released from prison after 5 1/2 years after getting credit for good behavior in July.Former Illinois Gov. George Ryan arrives at a halfway house in Chicago Wednesday, Jan. 30, 2013, after serving five-plus years in federal prison on corruption charges. The 78-year-old Ryan began serving his 6 1/2-year sentence in November 2007 in Oxford, Wis., and was released from another prison in Terra Haute, Ind., to enter the halfway house under a work-release program. (credit:(AP Photo/M. Spencer Green))
Larry Langford(04 of11)
Position: Mayor of Birmingham, Ala. Sentence: 15 yearsOn December 1, 2008, Larry Langford, a former TV newscaster, was arrested by the FBI. He was accused of conspiracy, bribery, fraud, money laundering and filing false tax returns. His trial for public corruption ended with a sweeping verdict: a federal jury convicted Langford of all 60 counts. He was sentenced to 15 years in prison.Caption: Birmingham Mayor Larry Langford, left, speaks to reporters at the federal building with his wife Melva Langford for jury selection in his trial on Monday, Oct 19, 2009, in Tuscaloosa, Ala. Langford is accused of taking about $230,000 in bribes to funnel bond work to Montgomery investment banker Bill Blount during Langford's time as president of the Jefferson County Commission. Blount has pleaded guilty and agreed to testify. (credit:AP Photo/Butch Dill)
Jimmy Dimora(05 of11)
Position: Former Cuyahoga County, Ohio Commissioner Sentence: 28 years In what's possibly the longest corruption sentence handed out to a public official in the last 10 years, Jimmy Dimora, a former Cuyahoga County, Ohio county commissioner, was sentenced to 28 years in prison for racketeering and 32 other related crimes in 2012. Dimora was a former mayor and Ohio's Democratic Party leader from 1994 until his resignation in 2009.Caption: Cuyahoga County Commissioner Jimmy Dimora talks with reporters outside federal court in Cleveland following a hearing Friday, Dec. 10, 2010. The attorney for Dimora, who is facing bribery charges, told a federal judge he wants off the case because of unpaid legal bills. (credit:AP Photo/Mark Duncan)
Jack B. Johnson(06 of11)
Position: Prince George's County, Md. Executive Sentence: 7 yearsMaryland politician Jack B. Johnson was sentenced to seven years in prison by a federal judge, who said Johnson's actions constituted "a deliberate march down a long path of kleptocracy," the Washington Post reported. He was fined $100,000 and ordered to enter alcohol treatment, while also forfeiting $78,000 and his antique Mercedes. Among other instances of bribery, the former Prince George's County executive and his wife "were overheard on a wiretap plotting to stash $79,600 in cash in her underwear and flush a $100,000 check that he got as a bribe down the toilet," the Washington Post said.Caption: Prince George's County Executive Jack B. Johnson and his attorneys Brian McDaniels (left) and Billy Martin (right) briefly speaks to the press outside the Federal Courthouse in Greenbelt, Maryland on Nov. 12, 2010. Prince George's County Executive Jack B. Johnson and his wife Leslie were arrested at their home Friday and charged in federal court with trying to hide or destroy the proceeds from a bribe from a local developer, according to court papers and federal law enforcement authorities in Greenbelt, Md. (credit:Photo by Marvin Joseph/The Washington Post via Getty Images)
Duke Cunningham(07 of11)
Position: U.S. House of Representatives, CaliforniaSentence: 8 yearsCunningham resigned from his House seat in 2005, after he had pled guilty to accepting $2.4 million in bribes and under-reporting his income to the IRS. In addition to his sentence of eight years and four months, Cunningham had to pay $1.8 million in restitution. He was released in June.This March 29, 2005 file photo shows Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham, R-Calif., speaking during a news conference in San Diego. Cunningham, whose feats as a Navy flying ace during the Vietnam War catapulted him to a U.S. House career that ended in disgrace when he was convicted of accepting $2.4 million in bribes from defense contractors, on Tuesday completed one of the longest prison sentence ever given to a member of Congress. (credit: (AP Photo/Denis Poroy, file))
Don Siegelman(08 of11)
Position: Governor of AlabamaSentence: 6 yearsDespite years of appeals and vocal supporters, former Alabama Gov. Don Siegelman was sentenced to more than six years in prison for bribery and other corruption-related charges in 2012. He was convicted in 2006 of selling an appointment to a hospital regulatory board for $500,000 in campaign contributions.Caption: In this file photo taken Nov. 2, 2011, former Alabama Gov. Don Siegelman talks with reporters outside the Federal Courthouse in Montgomery, Ala. Siegelman is headed back to federal court Friday, Aug. 3, 2012, for a new sentencing hearing for his conviction on bribery and other charges. Judge Mark Fuller will decide Siegelman?s new sentence in Montgomery and could order him to immediately return to federal prison after more than four years of freedom. (credit:AP Photo/Dave Martin, File)
Charles Walker(09 of11)
Position: Georgia Senate Majority LeaderSentence: 10 yearsCharles Walker, who became Georgia's first African-American Senate Majority Leader in 1996, was convicted in 2005 of 127 counts of bribery, mail fraud and other corruption crimes, and sentenced to 10 years in prison.Caption: Sen. Charles Walker, D-Augusta, poses at his desk in his Atlanta legislative office on Friday, Feb. 5, 1999. (credit: (AP Photo/Alan Mothner))
John Perzel(10 of11)
Position: Pennsylvania House SpeakerSentence: 2 1/2 to 5 years in prisonPennsylvania's former house speaker was called the mastermind of the Computergate scandal, which attempted to divert millions of dollars in taxpayer funds to computer programs to benefit GOP campaigns. Former Pennsylvania House Speaker John Perzel, R-Philadelphia, center, with his attorney Brian McMonagle, right, enters the Dauphin County Courthouse Wednesday, Aug. 31, 2011, in Harrisburg, Pa. Perzel entered a guilty plea Wednesday to two counts of conflict of interest, two counts of theft and four counts of conspiracy. (credit: (AP Photo/ Bradley C Bower))
Salvatore "Sal" DiMasi(11 of11)
Position: Massachusetts House SpeakerSentence: 8 yearsThe third consecutive Speaker to leave the Massachusetts House in scandal, DiMasi was convicted of steering two state contracts worth $17.5 million to a company in exchange for payments for DiMasi and two of his friends. DiMasi, 66, was sentenced to eight years in prison in 2011.Former Massachusetts House Speaker Sal DiMasi, right, listens to his attorney Thomas Kiley speak outside federal court after DiMasi pleaded not guilty to federal corruption charges Thursday, Nov. 12, 2009, in Boston. (credit:(AP Photo/Michael Dwyer))