No decision yet on low-alcohol beverages, says Liju

Defending the Budget proposal to slash taxes on low-alcohol beverages, Excise Minister M. Liju said the government had not taken any decision on introducing low-alcohol beverages in the State and that the move announced in the Budget was only a financial decision relating to taxation.

He said it was the previous LDF government that had amended the Abkari Act in 2023 to create a separate category for low-alcohol beverages with alcohol content ranging from 0.5% to 20% and had introduced another amendment in 2025.

“The very leaders of the LDF who brought in these provisions are now criticising the move. What is the logic behind it,” Mr. Liju asked mediapersons here. The Minister said no policy decision had been announced by the Excise department and that detailed discussions on the State’s liquor policy would be held after the Assembly session.

State Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala also defended the move, saying no new bars had been permitted since the UDF assumed office and maintained that its policy was aimed at gradually reducing alcohol consumption and availability in the State. “No one should question our sincerity on this issue. We have a clear policy,” he told reporters in Kozhikode.

Meanwhile, Thamarassery Bishop Mar Remigiose Inchananiyil also criticised the government’s decision, saying it sent a wrong message to society and urged the government to withdraw the proposal.