KOCHI: The competition conducted by giving rewards to the public to suggest the name and logo of a newly manufactured liquor is a violation of excise rules and should be withdrawn and the minister should give a reply, said Prasad Kuruvila, state secretary and spokesperson of the KCBC Anti-Liquor Committee.
“This is ‘surrogate advertisement’. This is a blatant violation of the law that prohibits advertising of liquor on the part of Bevco. The opportunity to suggest a name and logo for a new brand that promotes alcoholism will send a wrong message even to children. We will not allow this to be taken forward,” said the committee.
The government, which has been saying that alcohol is prohibited for the past 10 years, has increased the hours of bars to celebrate the New Year and adopted an approach, the organisation added. “The government is testing the patience of the mothers and sisters who are suffering from the misery and tragedy of deadly drugs and alcohol.”
After the local body elections, this government is only a ‘caretaker government’ in the minds of the people, said the committee. “There will be a strong feeling against anti-people policies among voters preparing for the assembly elections.”