Thiruvananthapuram: The decision to grant tax relief to low-alcohol beverages is snowballing into a controversy within both the govt and the Congress, amid indications that CM V D Satheesan did not discuss the proposal either in the cabinet or within the party before it was announced in the budget.Excise minister M Liju is learnt to have decided to formally register his protest, expressing displeasure over not being consulted before the proposal was unveiled. Liju is understood to have maintained that the govt has not yet taken a policy decision on the matter and that the budget merely contained a proposal by the finance department to provide tax concessions for low-alcohol beverages. The minister is of the view that any decision on the issue should be taken only after detailed discussions within the govt.The proposal has also triggered unease within the Congress. AICC general secretary K C Venugopal acknowledged that concerns had been raised over both the liquor policy and the decision to open the mineral sand sector to private investment and said these issues would be discussed within the party.“Congress has a national policy on mineral sand mining and the party and the UDF also has a position at the state level. We can move forward only within that framework. Even if the govt acts with good intentions, it has the responsibility to ensure that its decisions are acceptable to the people,” Venugopal said.He added that policy matters affecting the state would be discussed within the party at the appropriate time and that it was the government’s responsibility to address apprehensions surrounding the liquor policy and mineral sand mining proposals.Senior Congress functionary V M Sudheeran has already written to the CM expressing his opposition to both decisions. No senior Congress functionary or minister has publicly defended the govt’s stand on either issue. KPCC president and power minister Sunny Joseph is also learnt to be unhappy that the decisions were announced without prior discussion within the party.The govt’s liquor policy has also come under criticism from religious and community leaders. The Kanthapuram faction criticised the move in an editorial in its mouthpiece Siraj, describing the classification of liquor into categories such as low-strength and high-strength beverages as irrational. The editorial warned that the policy could encourage greater alcohol consumption and pave the way for the entry of new liquor brands and companies. It also questioned the government’s commitment to its anti-drug campaign, Operation Toofan, arguing that promoting alcohol consumption runs contrary to those efforts.Syro-Malabar Church Bishop Mar Joseph Pamplany also opposed the policy, saying any move facilitating wider availability of alcohol under the guise of low-strength beverages was unacceptable. He urged the government to reconsider the decision, arguing that mistakes committed by previous administrations should not be repeated and that past policies should not be used as a justification for expanding alcohol distribution.
