‘Blaming’ tipplers for 2016 loss, DMK drops prohibition from poll manifesto

CHENNAI:  It seems the DMK leadership has lost a pint of its fighting spirit from when the then DMK chief M Karunanidhi made prohibition one of the party’s key poll planks five years ago. This time, the Dravidian major has quietly dropped prohibition from its manifesto and has since been silent on the issue.

Party insiders attribute it to many cadre blaming “drunkards who feared prohibition” for DMK’s loss in 2016. “People are not at all in support of prohibition,” says DMK leader TKS Elangovan, who was also a part of the party’s manifesto committee. “However, the DMK is committed to the plan. We will implement prohibition in a phased manner once we come to power.

This issue requires lot of planning and we will soon come up with an indisputable strategy,” he adds. 
In the backdrop of protests led by anti-liquor activists like Sasi Perumal, the DMK had resolutely vowed to enforce prohibition in the State five years ago. The move was then dubbed a tactic to win over women voters. Former AIADMK supremo countered the promise recalling that it was the Karunanidhi government, which in 1971 lifted the liquor ban in Tamil Nadu.

She then promised prohibition in a phased manner, and shut down 500 TASMAC outlets immediately after forming government. A source close to the party’s top leadership told Express that there was a lot of discussions on this subject between the manifesto panel and the party leadership. “Yes, the committee had received many requests from public to shut down liquor shops. The leaders have decided to shut liquor shops after coming to power, but were reluctant to mention it in the manifesto as in the last election we lost for want of just 1.1 per cent votes.”