Kerala Governor's suggestion on review of liquor policy may reflect change in govt position

Kerala Governor P Sathasivam’s address to the Legislative Assembly on Friday suggesting a review of the previous United Democratic Front (UDF) government’s liquor policy is seen as a move to reopen the bars and retail outlets that were closed under the phased prohibition policy introduced in August 2014. In his customary address that gives a sense of the policy direction of the new Left Democratic Front (LDF) government, Sathasivam said the UDF government’s policy aimed at liberating the state from the clutches of hard liquor in ten years had not yielded the desired result. The Governor said the government would formulate its new policy after gauging the opinion of all sections of people. The Communist Party of India (Marxist)-led Left front had, in fact, had tried to placate both the sections by keeping mum on repeated pleas from different quarters to clear its stand on prohibition throughout the election campaign. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and senior LDF leaders had clung on to the abstinence policy of the LDF even after CPI (M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury and former chief minister V S Achuthanandan stated that the LDF will not reopen the closed bars if they come to power. The former views the thumping victory the LDF got in the election as a vindication of their strategy. [caption id=“attachment_2856040” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image. Reuters[/caption] This section feels that the policy did not help the UDF as the prohibitionists realized the dangers inherent in it. The women, whose support the UDF counted mainly in the May 16 election, had turned against the much-trumpeted policy as it had led to a huge rise in drug abuse and a massive increase in the consumption beer and wine in the wake of closure of the bars. While the UDF government itself admitted a three-fold increase in drug consumption, statistics available with Kerala State Beverages Corporation (KSBC), the sole distributor of Indian made foreign liquor (IMFL) in the state, showed beer consumption had gone up by over 60 percent and wine consumption by over 260 percent since 1 April, 2014, when the first set of 418 bars were closed. The statistics compiled by the Thiruvananthapuram-based Alcohol and Drug Information (Adic) India show that the sale of hard liquor had come down only by 24.92 per cent despite the closure of over 700 bars and 72 retail outlets. The LDF leaders say that the benefit to families in terms of financial gains was offset by the UDF government’s decision to convert the closed bars into beer and wine parlours. The LDF had alleged that the UDF government had allowed the beer and wine parlours to shut the mouths of bar owners, who had raised a volley of bribery charges against several ministers and some UDF leaders. One minister had resigned and a vigilance probe was ordered against another by a court in the wake of these allegations. But what has worried the prohibitionists the most is the sharp shift of regular boozers to drugs following the closure of bars. The state had recorded a huge increase in drug seizures across the state following the closure of the bars. The then Director General of Prosecution T A Asif Ali had described this as an indication of penetration of global drug mafia into the state. He had told the High Court that the drug mafia had considered the closure of bars as an enormous opportunity for their business. A senior police officer said drugs had started flowing into the state from countries like Nepal, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Horn of Africa, and even Central America following the closure of bars. Maoist-infested areas in Chhattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh and Orissa have also become major sources of supply of drugs, mostly cannabis, to the state. The officer, who did not want to be identified, told Firstpost that the business could flourish by the time all the retail liquor outlets are closed by 2024. The officer said that it may not be possible for law enforcement authorities to check the menace as the drug peddlers have been constantly changing modes of distribution. But what has raised concern in the families in Kerala is the attempt by the drug mafia to hook the children into drugs. The police officer said there was a deliberate attempt by the drug cartels to lure the teens by initiating them into gateway drugs like tobacco, inhalants, psychotropic drugs etc. This is part of their attempt to create a dedicated clientele. The women considered the drugs more dangerous than liquor. Senior leaders of the LDF say that the prohibitionists, who are supporting the liquor policy of the previous government, were citing only the minor fall in the sales of IMFL by the KSBC in their defence. They are not aware of the lurking larger danger. CPI(M) state secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan said LDF considered prohibition impractical. He said that it had failed wherever it was implemented. He said the LDF government would adopt a pragmatic policy of freeing people from the clutches of not only alcohol but also drugs by creating awareness against its evil effects. The government has already begun the process for launching an awareness campaign. It has appointed cricketer Sachin Tendulkar as the brand ambassador of the campaign. The Madhya Virudha Samithi of Kerala Catholic Bishops Council (KCBC), which had issued an appeal to defeat those opposing prohibition, has expressed doubt about the effectiveness of abstinence policy in checking the liquor menace. Samiti chairman, Thamarassery Bishop Mar Remigiose Inchananiyil, said he was not in favour of LDF policy of temperance and wanted the government to continue with the steps for reducing the availability of liquor. Samithi general secretary Fr T J Antony said that they don’t believe that the alcohol menace can be fought through abstention. Liquor consumption can be brought down only by reducing availability of liquor. “We have been trying to create awareness against alcoholism for several decades now, but it has not brought down liquor consumption. We considered the UDF policy as a step in right direction. If the LDF feels there are shortcomings in the policy they should rectify it instead of changing the policy totally,” the priest told Firstpost. Leader of opposition in the state Assembly Ramesh Chennithala, former finance minister KM Mani and former industries minister PK Kunhalikutty have viewed the description of the UDF liquor policy as a failure in the Governor’s address as part of a clear move to reopen the closed bars. “The LDF assessment is not correct. Besides bringing peace in many families, it has brought down accidents and crimes to a big extent,” says Ramesh. Earlier, the UDF had alleged a secret deal between the LDF and the bar owners in reopening the closed bars. In fact, some had even termed the bribery charges leveled against former finance minister K M Mani and former excise minister K Babu as part of this deal. Kerala Bar Hotel Owners Association working president Biju Ramesh, who rattled the UDF government with graft charges, had admitted that the bar owners had met senior LDF leaders but denied any deal. He said that they had met the leaders to provide the details about the allegations they made against Mani and Babu. There were also allegations that the bar owners had offered Rs 10 crores to solar scam accused Saritha S Nair to raise allegations that could dislodge the government. Saritha had raised not only graft charges but even sexual allegations against many UDF leaders, including former chief minister Oommen Chandy. The High Court on Friday quashed an order of a vigilance court directing the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (VACB) to register a First Information Report against Chandy and former power minister Aryadan Mohammed based on an allegation leveled by the solar scam accused.