Money collected for construction fund, Animon suspended; V Sunil Kumar responds – KERALA – GENERAL

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Federation of Kerala Hotels Association president V Sunil Kumar has denied allegations that he had ordered collection of money from bar owners for favourable liquor policy of the state government. Speaking to the media, he alleged that the voice message sent through WhatsApp by the organisation’s vice president Animon was part of a conspiracy.

“We have asked every member of the organisation to contribute Rs 100,000 to the construction fund. Recently we decided to suspend Animon for trying to divide the organisation,” said Sunil Kumar.

“Our organisation has 650 members. We had decided to buy a building in Thiruvananthapuram for the organisation. However, some members opposed this move on the grounds that there was no need for an office in Thiruvananthapuram as the organisation already had an office in Kochi. Though the decision to buy the building was taken twice, it could not be implemented due to opposition from the members. We then decided to vigorously enforce the decision to buy the building. The full amount should be paid by the end of this month,” he said.

“We have to pay Rs 560 million to the Malayali American who owns the building. Rs 60 lakh has to be paid towards the registration fee. But so far we have been able to collect only about Rs 450 million from 450 members. Rs 1 lakh has been collected from each person. All transactions have been done through the bank account. We have to raise the remaining amount by May 30. For this, each member of the executive committee has been asked to lend Rs 250 million to the state committee,” he added.

“However, the members, including Animon, again opposed this move. Some leaders from Idukki and Kollam, including Animon, started efforts to form a new organisation even at the time when it was decided to buy the building in Thiruvananthapuram. These efforts began two months ago. At the meeting on the last day, the matter was discussed in the presence of Animon. The committee criticised Animon’s moves and decided to suspend him. Following this, Animon stormed out of the meeting,” said Sunil Kumar.