THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The LDF government’s decision to increase the operating hours of bars is aimed at collecting crores of rupees from bar owners ahead of the assembly election, BJP state general secretary Sobha Surendran has alleged.
Speaking to reporters here on Thursday, the BJP leader criticised Excise Minister M B Rajesh’s claim that the decision to increase bar timings was taken to promote the tourism sector. She pointed out that Gujarat, that attracts 18 crore tourists annually, has total prohibition in place while Kerala with a tourist arrival of just two crore wants bars to function till midnight.
“Are tourists coming to Kerala to drink? The minister’s approach amounts to an insult to the visitors to the state,” Sobha said. The BJP leader said the LDF’s promise of promoting abstinence has fallen flat as the number of bars in the state that was 88 in 2016 rose to 884 in 10 years of LDF rule.
On the Sabarimala gold theft case, Sobha said the Supreme Court should institute a CBI investigation as the current probe by the SIT is heading nowhere. She said the investigation can progress only if the SIT questions Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan.