Kottayam (Keralam), Sep 18 (PTI) CPI state secretary Binoy Viswam on Friday criticised the previous LDF government over its liquor policy, saying it had failed to implement the changes people had expected.
The CPI is the second-largest constituent of the LDF after the CPI(M).
Speaking at a state meeting of the Kerala Chethu Thozhilali Union, which represents toddy tappers, Viswam said the LDF should not have lost in the Vaikom, Thaliparamba, Payyanur and Ambalappuzha constituencies and that the reasons for its defeat should be identified and rectified.
Criticising the previous LDF government’s liquor policy, Viswam said the proposed changes were aimed at transforming toddy shops.
“That was what the liquor policy was for. Those were the changes meant for it. Therefore, let me say firmly that our government did not try to go that way as we all had wished. That is indeed a lapse,” he said.
Viswam questioned the logic behind the different distance limits prescribed for toddy shops and bars from schools and religious places in Keralam under the previous LDF government’s liquor policy.
“The distance limit for a toddy shop was 400 metres. For bars, the distance limit is 50 metres. For five-star bars, it is 150 or 200 metres. What logic is this? What scientific logic?” he asked.
He said the different criteria for bars were difficult to justify and that people had expected the government’s liquor policy to reflect its stated position.
“What was done was not something that aligns policy-wise,” he said. PTI TBA SSK
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