The Madya Virudha Samithi of the Kerala Catholic Bishops Council (KCBC) proposes to launch a strong but peaceful agitation against the Government's liquor policy.The Archbishop of Thiruvananthapuram Susaipakiam who announced this while inaugurating a one-day fast organised by the Samithi before the Secretariat on Tuesday to focus attention on the issue said that the closed toddy shops would not be allowed to be reopened.
He stated that he was not taking seriously the Excise Minister's statement that the agitation against the liquor policy would not work.
Bishop Joshua Mar Ignathios, who presided over the function, said that the liquor policy was capable of attracting 500 persons towards liquor when five were weaned away from it.
He stated that the Samithi would take out marches to the Collectorate against the policy on March 31.
Fr. Paul Karachira, Prasad Kuruvilla, Charlie Paul, F.M .Lasser and Johnson Nanthirackal were among those who spoke.
The Samithi placed six demands before the Government. They included abandoning the move to reopen 1,610 toddy shops, which had been closed.
It pointed out that if they were reopened, illicit toddy and arrack would flow through them.
It would lead to the violation of the promise to check the smuggling in of spirit and illicit distillation.
The Samithi demanded the restoration of the relevant clauses of the Nagar Palika and Panchayati Raj laws under which the Local Self Government Institutions would have the authority to decide whether liquor shops should function or not.
It also advocated against the sanctioning of new IMFL shops and beer parlours and the withdrawal of the arrack ban on any account.
Liquor shops should not be opened to protect the workers.
The Government should resort to other methods for that.
The Samithi also demanded the re-imposition of prohibition in a phased manner in the State.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Disclaimer
No responsibility or liability shall attach itself to either myself or to the blogspot ‘Clerical Whispers’ for any or all of the articles placed here.
The placing of an article hereupon does not necessarily imply that I agree or accept the contents of the article as being necessarily factual in theology, dogma or otherwise.
Sotto Voce