|
|
Kerala church up against Vijayan's liquor policy
|
|
|
|
Top Stories |
|
|
|
|
SME Times News Bureau | 17 Mar, 2018
In a telling blow to the
Pinarayi Vijayan government, the Kerala church on Saturday slammed the
state's liquor policy, threatening it would work against the ruling
Left's candidate in the upcoming Chengannur by-poll.
A senior
bishop of the powerful Syro Malabar Catholic Church said this after the
state government on Friday notified a Supreme Court order allowing
licenses to every local body to open new liquor vends in the areas where
population is above 10,000 .
The Syro church is a key member of the Kerala Catholic Bishops Conference that has a very strong anti-liquor front.
Speaking
to the media, Bishop Mar Remigiose Inchananiyil, of the Thamarassery
Diocese near here, said they were challenging the Vijayan government to
set the ball rolling for a referendum on the new liquor policy.
"They
had come with a detailed manifesto on what their liquor policy would be
and they used film stars to propagate that their liquor policy would be
one of abstinence.
"Just see now what has happened. All the bars
that were closed are going to be reopened. Whom are they (the Left)
cheating? We will be in the forefront at the Chengannur by-election
asking the electorate to vote against the manipulative tactics of the
Left government," said an angry Inchananiyil.
In 2016, when the
Oommen Chandy-led Congress government demitted office, there were two
dozen bars that operated in five star hotels. Around 700 bars in the
three- and four-star hotels were shut down.
Chandy's policy envisaged prohibition in Kerala by 2023.
After
Vijayan took over, the government reduced distances between liquor
vends and religious and educational institutions from 200 metres to 50
metres.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Customs Exchange Rates |
Currency |
Import |
Export |
US Dollar
|
66.20
|
64.50 |
UK Pound
|
87.50
|
84.65 |
Euro
|
78.25
|
75.65 |
Japanese
Yen |
58.85 |
56.85 |
As on 13 Aug, 2022 |
|
|
Daily Poll |
|
|
PM Modi's recent US visit to redefine India-US bilateral relations |
|
|
|
|
|
Commented Stories |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|