Talking to the media at Raj Bhavan in Aizawl, Purushothaman said, "In my personal opinion, and not in my capacity as the head of the state, the Mizoram Liquor Total Prohibition Act, 1995, has done more harm than good and people who wanted to drink were forced to consume spurious liquor."
He added that in his native state of Kerala, the government's PSU manufactured good liquor and earned Rs 10,000 crore a year from revenue. He said the Kerala experiment would be successful in Mizoram which would help in earning at least Rs 500 crore for the fund-starved state.
"I have expressed my opinion on the liquor policy to the church leaders when I met them earlier," the governor said.
He added that the imposition of the dry law not only increases drug addicts among youths, it also compels people to drink unhealthy alcoholic beverages. The prohibition was imposed in the state since February 20, 1997 by the then Congress government led by chief minister Lal Thanhawla, a year before the state assembly polls.
Social workers, who were against the dry law alleged that the government imposed the prohibition at the behest of the powerful church and successive governments also continued to enforce the law for fear of retribution from the church.
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