Thiruvananthapuram: Admitting that there were problems in taking a decision on liquor policy, Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy on Wednesday said an agreement would be arrived at in Congress and ruling UDF through discussions. Responding to reporters' queries during a Cabinet briefing on the issue of granting licences to 418 bars in the state that were closed about a month ago due to lack of mandatory standards, Chandy said there were legal and practical problems to be addressed.
"A solution has to be drawn up after discussion," Chandy said, adding, he could not say when such a discussion would be held. On the reported rift between him and KPCC President VM Sudheeran on the issue, Chandy said no one had said that the formula proposed by Sudheeran in this regard was impractical. However, he said there were legal and practical problems to be addressed and a solution had to be drawn up after discussions.
Chandy also said there was no difference in Congress on liquor policy that availability of liquor in the market should be curtailed through anti-liquor awareness drives. The issue of granting licence to 418 bars had run into controversy after it was reported that there were differences between Sudheeran and Chandy on government's move to consider issuing temporary licences to the closed bars.
Sudheeran took a stand that no bar licences should be renewed unless the bars improved their facilities to the required standard. He was of the view that licences should be limited to hotels with two-star status. Home Minister and former KPCC chief Ramesh Chennithala had mooted a formula that licences should be given to upgraded bars and two-star bars, according to which 60-67 bars can be reopened, which was opposed by Sudheeran.
Chandy and Excise minister K Babu were of the view that licences have to be issued to 418 bars after giving them time to upgrade.
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