Ker CM justifies his objection on AG appearing for bar owners

Image
Press Trust of India Thiruvananthapuram
Last Updated : Jul 23 2015 | 8:02 PM IST
Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy today defended his objection to the appearance of Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi for bar hotel owners in the appeal challenging the state's liquor policy in the Supreme Court.
Chandy said he did not think that the action of the Attorney General is in tune with the spirit of federal system.
"It should be examined whether the action of Attorney General of India is against the spirit of Federal system. The state was actually trying to implement one of the matters enshrined in the directive principles of the Constitution," he told reporters during the Cabinet meeting briefing here.
The state's liquor policy envisages total prohibition in 10 years time. With the new policy that came into force from this financial year, only hotels with five star status were permitted to operate Indian Made Foreign Liquor(IMFL) bars. More than 700 hotels below the category of five star were closed down after the new policy came into force.
"I already wrote a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressing the state's objection in this regard", Chandy said. He replied in the negative when asked whether he got a reply from Prime Minister to his letter.
"I do not think that action of AGI is in tune with the spirit of federal system," Chandy added.
Chandy was responding to a query on the state high court criticism of the functioning of Advocate General office and the remark that Chief Minister has no right to complain about Attorney General when state's Advocate General office was in a "shabby state of affairs".
Fully backing the Advocate General's office, Chandy said government had full faith in its functioning.
*Subscribe to Business Standard digital and get complimentary access to The New York Times

Smart Quarterly

₹900

3 Months

₹300/Month

SAVE 25%

Smart Essential

₹2,700

1 Year

₹225/Month

SAVE 46%
*Complimentary New York Times access for the 2nd year will be given after 12 months

Super Saver

₹3,900

2 Years

₹162/Month

Subscribe

Renews automatically, cancel anytime

Here’s what’s included in our digital subscription plans

Exclusive premium stories online

  • Over 30 premium stories daily, handpicked by our editors

Complimentary Access to The New York Times

  • News, Games, Cooking, Audio, Wirecutter & The Athletic

Business Standard Epaper

  • Digital replica of our daily newspaper — with options to read, save, and share

Curated Newsletters

  • Insights on markets, finance, politics, tech, and more delivered to your inbox

Market Analysis & Investment Insights

  • In-depth market analysis & insights with access to The Smart Investor

Archives

  • Repository of articles and publications dating back to 1997

Ad-free Reading

  • Uninterrupted reading experience with no advertisements

Seamless Access Across All Devices

  • Access Business Standard across devices — mobile, tablet, or PC, via web or app

More From This Section

First Published: Jul 23 2015 | 8:02 PM IST

Next Story