KC Venugopal Voices Disquiet Over UDF's Liquor Tax Cut, Mineral Sand Mining Decision

New Delhi: AICC General Secretary K C Venugopal has publicly expressed displeasure over the UDF government's decision to slash liquor sales tax by more than half and its move on mineral sand mining. Venugopal said some concerns had been raised regarding the liquor policy and the mineral sand issue, and that the government had a responsibility to address these concerns. He said there would be internal party consultations on policy matters, including the liquor policy, and that such issues would be discussed in the appropriate manner.

"The new government has only just come in. If anyone has grievances over decisions taken by the government, these will be discussed at the party level. Congress has a stand at the national level on black sand mining, and Congress and the UDF also have a policy at the state level — we can move forward only within that framework," Venugopal said.

Ministers Ramesh Chennithala and M Liju had already come out against Chief Minister V D Satheesan's budget announcement. Former KPCC president V M Sudheeran had also written to Satheesan demanding that the decision be withdrawn. What angered them was that Satheesan had inserted the decision into the budget for the benefit of large liquor companies without the knowledge of the department concerned, the cabinet, the front, or the Congress party.

In the name of the anti-narcotics campaign, the Home and Excise Ministers stand on one side while the Chief Minister appears to side with the liquor lobby on the other. There have been allegations earlier that "Team UDF" has effectively shrunk down to V D Satheesan alone — allegations that the deal stories now surfacing only seem to confirm. Besides demanding the withdrawal of the budget proposal that promotes the spread of liquor, V M Sudheeran has also opposed handing over black sand mining to the private sector. Copies of his letter were also sent to Ministers Ramesh Chennithala, P K Kunhalikutty, M Liju, and Deputy Speaker Shanimol Usman.