'Don't privatise liquor shops, shut them down': PMK's Anbumani Ramadoss urges CM Vijay

Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) President Dr Anbumani Ramadoss on Wednesday strongly opposed reports that the Tamil Nadu government is considering privatising a large section of state-run liquor outlets.

He said such a move would only increase alcohol consumption instead of addressing the state's liquor-related concerns.

Earlier today, reports surfaced that the Vijay government was considering privatising around 2,500 liquor outlets in urban areas out of the state's 4,048 Tamil Nadu State Marketing Corporation (TASMAC) shops.

If implemented, it would mark the first major shift towards private liquor retail since 2003, when the AIADMK government brought liquor sales under the control of state-run TASMAC.

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GOVERNMENT SHOULD SHUT SHOPS, NOT PRIVATISE THEM'

Ramadoss, who was the Minister of Health and Family Welfare from 2004 to 2009, said the government's objective should be to gradually close all liquor outlets and implement total prohibition. "Any deviation from this goal - whether by turning left, right, or making a U-turn - will only have serious consequences," he said.

Rejecting the argument that privatisation would help distance the government from liquor sales or curb overpricing, Ramadoss remarked, "It is being argued that the decision has been taken because it is embarrassing for the government itself to be selling liquor and because it has failed to prevent overpricing at liquor outlets. This is akin to burning down a house out of fear of bedbugs."

He added that while it was "indeed shameful" for the government to sell liquor, "the solution to this disgrace is to close all liquor shops and enforce complete prohibition—not to hand over liquor retail to private players."

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'RETURNING TO OLD SYSTEM IS A REGRESSION'

The former minister said Tamil Nadu's earlier experience with private liquor retail was marked by widespread irregularities.

According to him, licence holders had allegedly opened unauthorised branches, sold liquor beyond permitted locations and even dealt in illicit liquor through licensed outlets. These issues, he said, prompted the AIADMK government to shift liquor retail under the state-run TASMAC in 2002-03.

"Reversing that decision after 23 years and returning to the old system cannot be called a reform; it would instead amount to a serious regression," he said.

SHOCK OVER REPORTS

Ramadoss, whose PMK contested the recent assembly elections as part of the NDA and won 4 seats, also claimed that reports of liquor privatisation had surfaced repeatedly since the TVK government led by Chief Minister Vijay assumed office. There were, according to him, allegations of a lobby pushing for private liquor retail and procurement of liquor from other states.

However, he said supporters of prohibition had believed such a move would not happen because "Chief Minister Vijay had repeatedly asserted that he alone was the state's ultimate decision-maker."

"The reports emerging now therefore come as a major shock," he said.

Warning of the possible consequences, Ramadoss said privatisation would make alcohol more widely available and leave "children, students, youth, and people from all sections of society" more vulnerable to addiction.

He urged the government to "immediately abandon any proposal to privatise liquor retail and instead make arrangements to implement total prohibition across Tamil Nadu."