Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] State secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan has attempted to downplay the political import of the Communist Party of India's (CPI) purported opposition to the administration's "permissive" liquor policy for the 2022-23 fiscal.
Speaking to reporters in Kannur on Friday, Mr. Balakrishnan said: “The CPI as a party has not opposed the liquor policy. It has made no public statement. Some individuals might have stated their point of view. The CPI and the CPI(M) share a good relationship and act in tandem. Toddy workers unions, including those affiliated with the CITU and AITUC, had raised some demands about the distance factor pertaining to licenced outlets. There are several High Court verdicts on the issue. Hence, the government could not immediately decide on their need.”
Mr. Balakrishnan dismissed the United Democratic Front’s (UDF) allegation that corruption had impelled the policy shift. “They (UDF) are speaking out of habit. The UDF has possibly used excise policy and grant of licences as an avenue of corruption. We (LDF) do not subscribe to their custom,” he said.
AITUC State general secretary and former Minister K.P. Rajendran's demand that the Left Democratic Front (LDF) review the approach had brought the policy into sharp political focus.
It also seemed to lend credence to the UDF's accusation that the liquor industry had curried favour with the government and paid the ruling front backhanders to get political cover for their bid to rake in outlandish profits by bulldozing a policy that promoted hard drinking.
The AITUC’s perceived antagonism towards the revamped policy seemed moored to the worry that the decision to sanction breweries and wineries and allow the distillation of low-proof liquor from local produce would deal the traditional toddy sector a death blow. It also felt let down that the government had failed to constitute the toddy workers’ welfare board.
The AITUC's stance seemed to provide some momentum to the UDF's reported bid to spearhead a socio-cultural movement backed by the church and other religious organisations against the government's "libertarian" approach to alcohol production and sale.
The Kerala Catholic Bishops Conference (KCBC) said the policy would wreck families. It aspired to profit by promoting addiction. The Jamaat-e-Islami-backed Welfare Party and the Malankara Orthodox Church have opposed the policy.
