Thiruvananthapuram: Rural Development Minister K.C Joseph Saturday has said the State government has not buckled under pressure from the liquor lobby in the matter of liquor policy.
“Sudheeran’s statement is his personal view, not of the government,” Joseph said while responding to reporters queries on the KPCC chief’s yesterday’s statement.
The KPCC chief Friday had accused the government of buckling under pressure from the liquor lobby to sabotage the solid decision of the United Democratic Front (UDF) to implement a liquor policy envisaging total prohibition in a phased manner.
He said the liquor policy had been widely accepted by the people as could be gauged from the support he got during his one-month-long Janapaksha Yatra.
Saying that he strongly opposed to the changes in the liquor policy since it imposed vested interests of the liquor lobby over public good, Sudheeran said the widely accepted liquor policy had in effect been sabotaged.