THIRUVANANTHAPURAM : Social activist Swami Agnivesh has called for introducing a national alcohol policy to achieve the larger goal of total prohibition in the country.
Addressing a news conference here on Thursday, he said unless and until there is a national policy, the efforts for achieving prohibition would not work.
Commending the Kerala Government for the decision to close down the bars, he said that he had telephoned Chief Minister Oommen Chandy and KPCC president V M Sudheeran to congratulate them for the bold decision.
However, he said, he was not sure they would be there for another 10 years to achieve the goal of total prohibition.
‘’Ten years is a very long time. Whatever time is left in their tenure, they (the Kerala Government under Chandy) should work hard to achieve the goal,’’ he said.
He said as far as the borders of the state continue to be porous, the efforts for achieving prohibition would not work. However, he pointed out that Oommen Chandy can take up the matter with his party colleagues in Karnataka and his counterpart there to check the smuggling in of spirit into Kerala.
‘’But, in the larger interests of the country, Congress president Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi should take up the matter at the national level and should work for prohibition. It would benefit her party as well,’’ Agnivesh said.
‘’After all, Article 47 of our Constitution emphasises the goal of achieving prohibition. The Article 51(A) underscores the need for promoting the values of freedom struggle. It is the fundamental duty of the citizens,’’ he said.
Sonia Gandhi and other Congress leaders should remember that Gandhiji had always considered liquor as a bigger evil than the British.
Gandhiji had even stated that if he got power for 48 hours in the Independent India, he would close down all the liquor shops without paying a single penny as compensation, he said.