‘Lacked scientific logic’: CPI state secretary Binoy Viswam slams previous LDF govt over liquor policy

Kottayam: Senior coalition leader Binoy Viswam on Friday delivered a sharp critique of the previous Left Democratic Front (LDF) government's liquor policy, stating that the administration fell short of delivering the reforms citizens anticipated.

Viswam, who serves as the CPI state secretary, addressed delegates at a state meeting of the Kerala Chethu Thozhilali Union—the primary union representing the state's toddy tappers. The CPI stands as the second-largest constituent in the ruling LDF alliance, trailing only the CPM.

Reflecting on past electoral setbacks, Binoy Viswam noted that the LDF ought to have secured victories in key battlegrounds, including the Vaikom, Thaliparamba, Payyanur, and Ambalappuzha constituencies, emphasising that the underlying factors behind those losses must be pinpointed and corrected.

Focusing his criticism on the previous LDF administration's approach to excise reform, Viswam explained that the intended policy overhaul was originally designed to modernise and revitalise the traditional toddy sector.

"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 further scrutinised the regulatory disparities embedded within the previous framework, questioning the rationale behind imposing strict proximity rules on traditional toddy shops while granting far more lenient spacing to commercial bars near educational institutions and places of worship.

"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 argued that such unequal standards for commercial alcohol outlets remain indefensible and that the public rightfully expected the LDF's executive actions to match its foundational principles.

"What was done was not something that aligns policy-wise," he said. (PTI)