CPI(M) Says CM's Move to Leave Liquor Policy to UDF Is "Defiance of People, Disrespect to Assembly"

Thiruvananthapuram: The CPI(M) state secretariat has stated that the Chief Minister's announcement that the UDF would decide on the liquor policy amounts to defiance of the people and disrespect to the Assembly. It said the government's refusal to withdraw the budget proposal granting a Rs 600 crore tax concession to Bacardi is condemnable. The party warned that if this proposal is included in the Finance Bill, it would help the company secure a favourable verdict in court. The government, it alleged, is reluctant to withdraw the proposal out of fear that details of the financial dealings behind the deal with Bacardi would come to light. The CPI(M) asked whether the UDF intends to formulate its liquor policy only after the Finance Bill is passed.

Strong protests against the liquor tax cut have emerged not just from the Opposition but also from constituent parties within the UDF, sections within the Congress, religious and community organisations, and the public at large. The party said that if the UDF goes ahead with its decision to sell low-strength liquor, it would cause a loss of Rs 600 crore to the state exchequer. It added that the Chief Minister, who also holds the Finance portfolio, is trying to get this tax proposal included in the Finance Bill, and demanded that he clarify whether the concession would be dropped from the Bill.

The CPI(M) said the LDF government had formulated a clear liquor policy during its tenure, permitting farmers to produce low-strength beverages from fruits, and that the newly approved "Horti Wine" category had brought the government an additional Rs 80 crore in revenue. It asked what else, besides corruption, could explain the UDF government granting liquor barons a Rs 600 crore concession in its very first budget. It was precisely because the LDF government had not fixed a tax rate for spirit-based low-strength liquor that the GST Commissioner had been able to reject Bacardi's application at the time. The party said the public would see through the Chief Minister's duplicity in refusing to give clear answers to the Opposition's questions in the Assembly.