Antony’s support has come at the right time for Sudheeran, who was under tremendous pressure from sections from within the Congress itself to soften his tough stance against the reneweal of 418 closed bars. The KPCC chief and the Chief Minister are sharply divided on the sensitive issue. The CM and his close aides favour a ’more pragmatic stand’ – that is, bars which ensure two-star facilities should be given licence to operate. KPCC vice-president V D Satheeshan is, incidentally, with Oommen Chandy on the issue.

In the teeth of opposition, Sudheeran had agreed to go half by accepting the proposal for reopening of bars with two-star facilities. But now that Antony is firmly behind him on the issue, Sudheeran has toughened his stance by totally opposing the reopening of the closed bars. Sudheeran is on firm ground in insisting on his opposition: the public opinion, he says, is overwhelmingly against the reopening of the 418 bars.

The KPCC chief has derived further strength from the success of the ‘Lahari Viruddha Vedhi’(Anti-liquor Forum), organised on the occasion of the World Anti-Narcotic Day.

The latest statistics available with the Government also vindicate Sudheeran’s campaign. The data shows that, with the closure of the 418 bars, the law and order situation has improved considerably, the crime rate has come down drastically and there has been a marked fall in the number of road accidents. Sudheeran also wants the Chandy Government to present a bold policy perspective before the Kerala High Court which is set to shortly deal with the case before it on the bar licence renewal issue.

Another upshot of the forthright Antony stance has been that the powerful liquor lobby and its strong supporters both in the Government and the Congress have been put totally on the defensive. Hereafter, these leaders will find it extremely difficult to plead the case of the owners of the closed bars.

Even the High Court felt constrained to question the Government’s stand on the issue. The Court has pointed out the double standards of the Government. On the one hand, the Government says its policy is to ensure reduction in the availability of liquor. On the other, it pleads strongly for renewal of licence of the closed bars. These two conflicting stands do not go together, the Court has told the Government, to the acute embarrassment of the latter.

The principled stand of Antony, whose word is considered the last in Congress politics in the state, also represents a severe setback for Chief Minister Oommen Chandy and his close aides, who have been advocating a pragmatic policy(in other words, a policy that would be to the liking of the bar owners) in the matter.

The shrewd politician that he is, Chandy has been quick to change his stand by stating that hereafter, only five star hotels will have bars! The CM and his aides have realised their ‘pragmatic policy’ will further alienate the people. To put it in tennis parlance, it is advantage V M Sudheeran right now. (IPA Service)