For the past few days, the political discourse in Kerala has shifted from allegations of corruption to questions over the Left Democratic Front’s stand on the state’s liquor policy.
Bringing an end to the ambiguity, CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury on Friday, after a Polit Bureau meeting, said that the LDF will continue with the current liquor policy.
Sitaram Yechury, "We will not re-open closed bars. We will continue with the policy.”
The Polit Bureau’s intervention reportedly came after senior leader VS Achuthanandan asked the leadership to make the stand clear on the issue.
The Congress-led UDF government’s liquor policy came into force into 2014. It implemented prohibition in a phased manner, the first part of which involved shutting down bars in the state. The policy ultimately aims to achieve total prohibition in 10 years.
On Wednesday, CPI(M) leader Pinarayi Vijayan said that their front did not support total prohibition but would prefer reducing consumption in phases, in response to CM Oommen Chandy’s remark a day earlier when he dared CPI(M) to clear its stand on the liquor policy.
In January 2016, CPI (M) state secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan had reportedly said that the LDF will use the Udayabhanu Commission report to formulate the liquor policy.
The UDF leaders have been saying in campaigns that LDF has no clarity on the liquor policy.
"There is no lack of clarity in the LDF's stand. We want a liquor free Kerala through phased prohibition,” said MA Baby.