UDF to oppose 'online' liquor sales

Thiruvananthapuram: Opposition leader Ramesh Chennithala on Friday said the LDF government’s move to sell liquor online was unacceptable.

“The UDF will oppose the government’s move to make liquor available online. The CPI-M leadership’s move to make Kerala a liquor-centre is condemnable. The LDF government should stop such acts,” Chennithala said.

“The government should backtrack from such moves. The policy should be to bring down the usage and availability of liquor. The Left should not go back from that policy,” the Congress leader said adding “the UDF will resist any move from the government to make liquor easily available in the state.

Earlier, the state-owned Cooperative Consumers Federation (Consumerfed) had announced a plan to launch online liquor sales during Onam. “A final decision in this regard is expected soon," Federation chairman M Mehboob told reporters in Kozhikode.

He said it would be implemented only after discussions and getting clearance from the state government. This was only a suggestion to avoid long queues seen outside liquor outlets, he told PTI later.

As per the plan, initially about 59 brands will be sold to consumers who register for the product online.

Consumers can order their favourite brand online and collect it from the outlets by presenting the bill, he said.