Thiruvananthapuram: If LDF is voted to power, it will follow the liquor policy declared by CPI (M)General Secretary Sitaram Yechury in Kerala, VS Achuthanandan said in a facebook post.
This public comment by the senior leader of CPM which is contrary to the view aired by another CPM leader Pinarayi Vijayan is likely to dent the image of the Party among the voters before the elections.
Many believe that Achuthanandan is deliberately trying to spoil the chances of LDF coming to power in the May elections, with Pinarayi Vijayan at the helm. Achuthanandan, the ever ambitious Communist leader who capitalised on the agenda of the anti-Pinarayi groups in CPM to his further his prospects in the party, knows that the LDF, if voted to power, will not make him the Chief Minister.
His controversial and unwarranted comments prior to the elections, unbecoming of a disciplined party worker, are loaded with ulterior motives. The facebook comment is his latest snipe.
Achuthanandan said that no new bars will be opened in the state, as stated by CPI (M) General Secretary Sitaram Yechury. He achieved his goal cleverly by endorsing the liquor policy declared by CPI (M) General Secretary Sitaram Yechury, knowing too well that both Yechury and Pinarayi differ on the liquor bar policy. His aim is to prove that Pinarayi is not toeing the party line.
Achuthanadan’s game plan became more obvious when he went one step further by announcing that the system for the public distribution of liquor will be revamped. At Present, liquor is sold in bottles to the public through the outlets controlled by the state-run Civil Supplies Corporation and Consumerfed. Will the LDF, after coming to power, introduce rationing or adopt some other measures to regulate the supply of liquor to the public? Achuthanandan’s facebook statement leaves many questions unanswered.
Any regulation in the present system of liquor distribution can only have an impact on the state’s revenue generation and adversely affect the new government in power. In a state where liquor is a major source of revenue, no sensible political party can adopt a cut and dried policy on its sale and distribution. Parties know that prohibition may win cheers but not enough votes. The electoral defeat of UDF led by the wily politician A K Antony after he banned the sale of country liquor is a lesson political parties will never forget.
Moreover, many believe that Achuthanandan has not been entrusted with the power to make policy statements on behalf of the party. So they ask, why Achuthanandan made a policy statement in the form of a facebook comment on liquor?
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