VCK leader Thol. Thirumavalavan addressing mediapersons in Vellore on Tuesday. | Photo Credit: C. VENKATACHALAPATHY Reiterating the VCK’s long-standing demand, its founder and Chidambaram MP Thol. Thirumavalavan on Tuesday said the party wanted the Union government to bring in a separate law to enforce total prohibition in the country.Addressing mediapersons on the sidelines of a consultative meeting with the party functionaries here, he said that as far as prohibition was concerned, the VCK had been insisting on fulfilment of two demands for many years. The first was that the State government enforce prohibition in phases by reducing the total number of outlets run by the Tamil Nadu State Marketing Corporation (Tasmac) and decreasing the annual sales target of the outlets. The State government, he further said, should fix a deadline for implementing these changes. “I discussed these aspects for enforcing total prohibition in the State at a meeting with Chief Minister M.K. Stalin on Monday. We also submitted a memorandum to him,” he added. The second demand of the party, he said, was that the Centre pass a separate law on prohibition in the country. The VCK was only highlighting the recommendations of the Narayan Committee (The report of the Prohibition Enquiry Committee 1954-55), which was formed by the Centre, he added. Mr. Thirumavalavan said, “The 2026 [Tamil Nadu] Assembly election is 15 months away. Election-related decisions will be taken then. Prohibition is a social issue, not political…” The VCK chief reiterated that there were no issues between his party and the DMK as the latter too wanted a ban on liquor in the State. It was based on this shared opinion that the DMK agreed to send its representatives to the VCK’s conference on prohibition scheduled in Kallakurichi for October 2. The VCK had also invited representatives of the women’s wing of the parties in the INDIA bloc to the conference, he added. On the issue of allies sharing power, he said: “As I have said earlier, the issue of sharing power was our political stand taken when the VCK entered electoral politics in 1999. We have been reiterating it since then.” Published – September 17, 2024 10:53 pm IST