‘If discussions were held, controversies could have been avoided’; V M Sudheeran publicly expresses dissatisfaction on liquor tax relief  

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Senior congress leader V M Sudheeran has publicly expressed his dissatisfaction with the government's decision to grant tax relief on liquor. He clarified that the UDF will discuss the issue in detail and then bring an appropriate liquor policy. The UDF should have discussed it before bringing it to the assembly. He added that if there had been a discussion earlier, all the controversies that have arisen now could have been avoided. He was speaking to the media in Thiruvananthapuram.

'Reduce the prevalence and use of liquor. Wage a strong fight against drugs. Goal should be to put an end to the tragedy caused to society due to alcoholism. Kerala has recently had a very bad atmosphere due to the prevalence of liquor. During the tenure of Pinarayi Vijayan, the distribution of liquor was strengthened. The number of bars in Kerala, which was only 29, has crossed a thousand. No figures are released on the number of new bars being allowed. Therefore, if after a detailed discussion and formulation of the policy, there had been a discussion about the possibility of alcohol distribution in any context, these controversies would not have arisen,’ said V M Sudheeran.