Government should regulate sale of IMFL, reduce the number of Tasmac outlets gradually: Annamalai

Tamil Nadu Government should regulate sale of Indian Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL) and gradually reduce the number of Tasmac outlets, said BJP State president K. Annamalai in Coimbatore on Sunday.

Tamil Nadu Government should regulate sale of Indian Made Foreign Liquor (IMFL) and gradually reduce the number of Tasmac outlets, said BJP State president K. Annamalai in Coimbatore on Sunday.

He made it clear the BJP was not asking for prohibition as it was not possible. It was saying the State government should not sell liquor directly, it should regulate sale of IMFL as done in Gujarat or Kerala, should reopen arrack shops, and reduce the number of Tasmac outlets gradually.

The government should say what its problems were in opening arrack shops. It was that the sale of IMFL would come down if arrack shops were opened and affect the manufacturers of the liquor, many of whom were associated with the DMK, he alleged.

Mr. Annamalai said the CAG report on lack of accounting transparency in Tasmac was not surprising. It was difficult for a common man to get the annual report of the Tasmac and details such as from where the liquor was procured for supply to the Tasmac outlets. The reason was the Tamil Nadu Government wanted to hide some information related to Tasmac, he claimed.

On senior DMK Minister Duraimurugan’s recent remarks on quality of liquor sold at Tasmac outlets, Mr. Annamalai said that during his visit to Kallakurichi too, some people had aired similar views that the quality of liquor sold at the Tasmac outlets was poor and that drove people to spurious liquor and drugs.

Tamil Nadu Government should release a white paper on the investments that the State had received because of the Chief Minister’s visits to foreign countries, Mr. Annamalai said.

“There is nothing wrong in the Chief Minister travelling abroad. He should travel, meet people and bring investments to the State. But, only in Tamil Nadu there is no white paper on the Chief Minister’s visit to other countries and he continues travelling abroad,” he said.