Review liquor policy, Lok Satta Urges AP Government

The Lok Satta Party today welcomed Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi’s announcement that his Government was considering re-imposition of Prohibition.

Talking to the media, party General Secretary Katari Srinivasa Rao recalled that unlike in Andhra Pradesh where liquor shops are auctioned for maximizing revenue, in Tamil Nadu the Government itself runs liquor shops.

While the Tamil Nadu Government is having second thoughts on allowing free flow of liquor, the Andhra Pradesh Government is unabashedly planning to make more and more liquor brands available to addicts in the State. It had even dispensed with the practice of appointing a committee to educate people on the liquor menace.

Mr. Srinivasa Rao hastened to add that the Lok Satta Party harped on liquor consumption not as a moral issue. It was concerned only about promoting liquor consumption in a society in which large sections of people went without quality education, health care, and livelihood opportunities.

The Lok Satta leader pointed out that Gujarat was progressing on all fronts, although it stuck to Prohibition. He wanted the Andhra Pradesh Government to review its Excise policy. Meanwhile, he appealed to people to form committees at the local level and fight for closure of unauthorized belt shops and sitting rooms.