The V D Satheesan-led government is facing its first major political challenge after a budget proposal to impose a lower tax on low-alcohol beverages sparked criticism from within the ruling front and the opposition. The proposal, initiated by the finance department headed by the chief minister, is said to have been moved without adequately consulting the Congress leadership or Excise Minister M Liju.
The opposition has accused Satheesan of favouring vested interests and is expected to raise the issue in the Assembly. Internal unease within the UDF has also surfaced, with some leaders questioning the chief minister’s style of decision-making. A senior UDF leader remarked that Satheesan appeared to be concentrating key decisions in his own hands, reflecting a trust deficit within the cabinet.
Senior Congress leader and Satheesan ally V M Sudheeran urged the chief minister to revisit the proposal. The move has also drawn criticism from Christian and Muslim organisations, which have raised concerns over its implications for public health and the UDF’s long-held position on liquor policy. The matter is likely to come up for discussion at the next cabinet meeting, and some ministers indicated that the proposal could be withdrawn if Congress and IUML leaders oppose it strongly.
Notably, no senior Congress leader or minister has publicly defended the measure so far, highlighting growing discomfort both with the proposal and the chief minister’s approach.
Sources close to Satheesan maintained that the budget had not introduced any fresh liquor policy. They argued that the previous LDF government had already modified the Foreign Liquor Rules and the Abkari Act to allow the production of low-alcohol beverages, and that the finance department had merely set the corresponding tax rates.
However, opposition parties and critics within Congress argued that although the LDF had made the necessary legal changes, it had refrained from reducing taxes on such beverages after Satheesan, then Leader of the Opposition, accused the government of acting in the interests of liquor lobbies.
