Uproar in Kerala Assembly: LDF stages walkout over low-alcohol liquor tax

The Opposition Left Democratic Front (LDF) staged a walkout in the Kerala Legislative Assembly on Tuesday after the Speaker denied permission for its adjournment motion to discuss the substantial tax reduction on low-alcohol beverages proposed in the state budget.

The uproar began after Speaker Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan rejected the adjournment motion moved by former Finance Minister KN Balagopal, who demanded an urgent, standalone debate on the 131% tax cut on low-alcohol beverages proposed in the state budget.

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The Speaker ruled that the issue lacked the required legislative “urgency” to interrupt regular House business, noting that MLAs already had ample opportunity to debate it during the ongoing Revised Budget session.

Despite the Speaker’s refusal to admit the motion, Leader of the Opposition Pinarayi Vijayan read out the entire contents of the notice.

During his speech, Vijayan sharply intensified his attack on the government, alleging that official files were “swiftly processed” to deliberately favour Bacardi, a multinational liquor company with operations in Karnataka.

He pointed out that the existing tax rate of 251% was being reduced significantly and questioned the rationale behind the decision.

He claimed that the tax reduction would turn low-alcohol beverages into virtual “soft drinks,” thereby encouraging young people to enter an early cycle of addiction.

Dissatisfied with the Speaker’s ruling, LDF MLAs trooped into the well of the House, raised slogans against the government, and accused it of introducing the tax cut to benefit a particular private liquor company. They subsequently walked out of the Assembly.

Following the walkout, Chief Minister V.D. Satheesan and Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala told the House that reading out a motion that had been disallowed and making unsubstantiated allegations violated procedural rules. They explicitly requested that the remarks be expunged from the Assembly records.

They said that Pinarayi Vijayan had violated Assembly rules by using a rejected notice to level specific corruption allegations against the government. “The Opposition Leader has read out a script of completely baseless corruption allegations. Bringing these fictional stories into the official records under the guise of an adjournment motion is a gross violation of House rules,” Chief Minister Satheesan said.

Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala argued that Vijayan had used the floor of the House to make sweeping and unverified corruption allegations against the government and a specific private corporation, Bacardi, without providing prior notice or substantial evidence.

Speaker Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan stated that he would carefully examine the video footage and audio transcripts of the session. He assured the treasury benches that any remarks found to be outside the permissible scope of Assembly rules or deemed defamatory would be formally expunged from the official records.