Faced with adverse verdicts and observations from the judiciary, severe criticisms from the Opposition and serious problems confronting the employees of the closed bars, Kerala’s Congress-led UDF Government is considering making changes to its recently announced liquor policy which envisages total booze ban in the State in the next ten years.
Chief Minister Oommen Chandy announced in the State Assembly on Wednesday that the Government would make “practical” changes to the liquor policy but it would not alter the basics of it. “The changes will be based on the observation of the judiciary and the allegations being leveled against the policy,” he said.
“However, the Government will not go back on its goal of making the State liquor-free in the next ten years. The aim will be to ensure the success of the policy,” Chandy said replying to a notice for an adjournment motion on the subject moved by CPI(M) member and former Finance Minister TM Thomas Isaac.
The Chief Minister said that the Government had to take into account the problems being faced by those who had lost and were set to lose jobs due to the closure of bars as part of the liquor policy. The situation where certain bar employees had committed suicide also needed to be examined, he said.
Changes would be brought to the policy considering the support and criticisms it had received, Chandy said, adding that a final decision on this would be taken only after the settlement of the several cases pending in the court over the issue. According to sources, one of the first changes to the liquor policy could be revocation of the order making Sundays no-liquor days.
However, Chandy will find it extremely difficult to convince his own party as well as the UDF about the need to make changes to the liquor policy. State Congress president VM Sudheeran, who is currently leading a Kerala-wide Janapaksha Yatra with liquor ban as its chief slogan, reacted to Chandy’s announcement by saying, “There is no need for any change.” The main compulsion behind the move to make changes is the frequently occurring adverse orders and observations from the High Court.