How Did Liquor Tax Reduction, Not Mentioned in UDF Manifesto, Appear in Budget?: V M Sudheeran

Thiruvananthapuram: Senior Congress leader V M Sudheeran has come out against the UDF government's decision to grant a tax concession on low-strength liquor. Prohibition, he said, is the Congress party's declared policy, and the party's own election manifesto this time had promised to reduce the availability of liquor and drugs. Sudheeran told the media that he could not understand how a decision to grant tax relief had found its way into the budget despite this.

He said the government must take firm steps towards liquor prohibition. He said he had called the Chief Minister over the phone to convey his disagreement with the tax concession, and had later followed it up with a letter. He noted that strong pressure against the government's policy is mounting from various quarters, adding that he hoped the government would take an appropriate decision after taking public sentiment into account.

Sudheeran also said he did not know how the government's decision facilitating black sand mining had come about, pointing out that it had caused considerable anxiety among coastal communities.