Nitish Kumar to inaugurate Kerala Catholic Bishops' Council state meet

KOCHI: The Church sponsored anti-liquor forum has roped in Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar for the 18th State Conference of the KCBC Temperance Commission to be held on April 21 at Bharananganam in Kottayam district. Mr. Kumar will inaugurate the conference scheduled to be held at Bharananganam Alphonsa Residential School Ground. The Bihar Chief Minister has been invited to inaugurate the session for the determination shown by him for imposing prohibition in the state, according to a KCBC Temperance Commission Release.

Former KPCC president V.M. Sudheeran is another prominent political personality attending the conference otherwise dominated by prominent leaders of the Christian clergy in the state. According to the schedule the inaugural meeting will be chaired by Catholic Bishop Council of India (CBCI) president Archbishop Cardinal Baselious Cleemis while Syro-Malabar Church Archbishop Cardinal George Alencherry will deliver the keynote address.

According to Adv Charly Paul, state secretary of the KCBC Temperance Commission over 2,000 delegates representing 31 dioceses of Catholic Church in the state will be attending the meeting. The state conference is taking place in the background of the state government toying with the idea of relaxing the restrictions imposed by the previous UDF government in liquor sales in the state. Although the government has not spelt out the policy the Left Democratic Front has been openly saying that it is not in support of prohibition.