Indications have come out that the Catholic Church in Kerala may be softening the tough stand it had adopted so far against the dilution by the Congress-led UDF Government of its own liquor policy which had originally envisaged total booze ban in 10 years even as chinks have begun to appear in the unity of the movement for the cause of total booze ban.
Kerala Catholic Bishops' Council (KCBC), the outfit of all the 31 Catholic dioceses in the State which has been spearheading the struggle demanding liquor ban through its anti-liquor committee, is now being accused of abandoning its earlier position and replacing its demand for booze ban with the idea of renunciation of liquor. Though the anti-liquor committee of the KCBC has not yet announced any plan to withdraw from its agitation against the dilution of the policy, the objections of the Catholic Church in this regard may end soon, observers say. The committee, which had held a 'standing stir' at Kozhikode last Friday, has planned a similar agitation in Kochi on Thursday.
The first signs of the chinks in the Christian unity against the watering down of the liquor policy came on Tuesday from Bishop Thomas K Oommen, deputy moderator of the Church of South India, who alleged that the change in the KCBC's stand was suspicious. The Bishop said that those who had been leading a furious agitation demanding total liquor ban had suddenly become 'spiritualists'. "Those who were holding furious stirs are now advocating booze renunciation. Do you have to take so much trouble to create self-awareness on the need to give up the habit of boozingIJ" he asked in Kottayam.
There are rumours that the Catholic Church was forced to soften its stand due to differences of opinion among the clergy themselves. "Many of the bars facing closure due to the liquor policy are owned by Catholics. In that circumstance, it is not easy for the Church to continue with a tough stand," said Catholic businessman from Thrissur.
The KCBC and its anti-liquor committee had praised the UDF Government when the liquor policy envisaging total booze ban in ten years was announced on August 22. However, they turned against the Government, especially Oommen Chandy, after he announced changes which effectively diluted that policy. The standoff between the Government and the KCBC was so tough that Ministers in the UDF Cabinet had launched open attacks against the clergy. The Bishops' council was even accused of joining hands with State Congress president VM Sudheeran, a furious critic of the diluted liquor policy, and thus taking sides in the war between him and the CM.
The first signs of a softening of the KCBC stand came out last weekend when its chief Baselios Cardinal Cleemis Catholicos claimed that the agitation against the diluted liquor policy was being held not by the council but by its anti-liquor committee and that the Government should view the two as separate entities. However, the real game changer, according to observers, was the meeting Chandy held with Thamarassery Bishop Mar Remegios Injananiyil, president of the anti-liquor council of the KCBC, in Kozhikode last Saturday, a day after the priests, nuns and other faithful held a "standing" stir.
Meanwhile, the Government has issued a notification on amendments to the Abkari policy by which it has been diluted. As per the notification, all the bars closed down on March 31 last due to lack of required facilities can apply for beer-and-wine parlour licences as specified in Chief Minister's December 18 announcement on the changes to the policy.
