Kochi: To drink or not seems to be one of the key issues in the election campaign in Kerala with the ruling United Democratic Front launching an aggressive publicity glitz based on the theme, ‘The ecstasy of family happiness’ by claiming a 25 per cent decline in the consumption of liquor after the Chandy government closed down all bar hotels in the state except the five-star category.
Chief Minister Oommen Chandy and KPCC president V.M. Sudheeran are also highlighting the achievement while not losing an opportunity to snipe at the LDF by harping on the ambiguity prevailing in the CPM on the liquor ban.
The stand of the CPM and the LDF came under scrutiny after the Left leaders started speaking against a total ban on liquor. The Congress and the UDF on the other hand are highlighting the closure of bar hotels as a step towards the goal of total prohibition.
CPM politburo member Pinarayi Vijayan and other LDF leaders feel that total prohibition is not a pragmatic idea and insist on temperance as the best policy.
The anti-liquor movements in Kerala, however, are not convinced by the LDF arguments and castigate them as a ruse to legitimise the free-flow of liquor by default.
Fr. T.B. Antony, heading the anti-liquor committee of Kerala Catholic Bishop Council, says that a policy not oriented towards prohibition will only help nullify the achievements made by the state following the ban on bar hotels.
“The LDF will have to spell out the specific steps of abstinence policy ,” Fr Antony said. According to Fr. Antony, the consumption of Indian Made Foreign Liquor in Kerala is down by nearly 25 per cent in 18 months from April 1, 2014 to September 2015.
“The estimate is based on the available data from the Bevco, the government agency in control of liquor trade in the state,” he said. Fr. Antony pointed out that even in terms of sale revenue as on March 31, the consumption had declined. According to the available information, the total revenue from liquor sale is estimated at Rs 8,122 crore, up by Rs 1,558 crore compared with the previous year.
The increase in sales revenue is mainly due to the 30 per cent increase in prices and taxes, he said. The supporters of the LDF, however, say that the Congress and the UDF are creating a false impression as if the Chandy government had implemented prohibition in the state. Except banning the sale of liquor in a particular class of hotels, liquor is freely available in the state, they pointed out.
