Tourism Minister Moideen slams UDF liquor policy

Thiruvananthapuram: Former Chief Minister Oommen Chandy government's liquor policy was a confused one and needs revisions, Tourism Minister A.C. Moideen said on Tuesday.

"Who does not know that the UDF liquor policy was a 'hotchpotch one' and it was floated without any substance? It came out amid serious differences of opinion among Congress leaders," said Moideen.

Moideen's statement came after a weekly quoted opposition leader Ramesh Chennithala as saying that the previous Congress-led government's liquor policy did not yield the desired results in the May assembly polls which the UDF lost.

Moideen, in a letter to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and Excise Minister T.P. Ramakrishnan, has said the policy required corrections on account of a drop in earnings.

Introduced by the UDF government, the strict policy saw a shutdown of about 700 liquor bars. Alcohol is now available only in about two dozen five star hotels.

The policy also saw the closing down of about 50 liquor retail outlets across the state.