Former Madhya Pradesh chief minister Uma Bharti hit out at the Shivraj Singh Chouhan led-BJP government in the state over the new liquor policy that makes alcoholic drinks cheap and easily available.
“I am ashamed that we are earning revenue by playing with lives and honour of our sons and daughters,” Bharti said in a series of scathing tweets.
Meanwhile, leader of opposition and former chief minister Kamal Nath also sammed the government for making liquor cheap while hiking power tariff over and above continuously rising prices of fuel and domestic gas cylinders.
Uma Bharti, who has been constantly demanding prohibition on liquor in the state, came out with the tweets on Friday as the new liquor policy of the state came into force.
“Chaitra Navaratri starts tomorrow and woman power will be worshipped during the nine-day festival. Today, we have implemented a new liquor policy in the state, which ensures the system as to how people could be made to drink more liquor, how more liquor could be served from ahataas (open drinking space with liquor shops). Women folk across Madhya Pradesh are opposing the policy. In Chhattisgarh and Delhi, state units of BJP are protesting against similar liquor policies,” Bharti tweeted.
“I am with the women and daughters of Madhya Pradesh. Also I am worried about the sons who are falling prey to alcoholism. I am ashamed that we are earning revenue playing with their honour and lives,” the BJP leader said in final tweet.
According to the new liquor policy of the state, the prices of Indian made foreign liquor (IMFL) has been slashed by 20 per cent and excise duty of foreign made liquor has been slashed by 3 per cent, thereby making liquor considerably cheaper. Also, the policy has provision for making tetra packs of liquor available and considers allowing wine counters in selected super markets after taking due license fees.
There have been a series of protests by women against liquor shops in the vicinity of residences, schools, colleges, and temples in different parts of the state. Uma Bharti herself had hurled a stone at a liquor shop in Bhopal in support of the protesting women.
The Congress asked her to take more concrete steps than hurling stones in her campaign for prohibition. Party spokesperson Narendra Saluja, while quoting her tweets, said “All your points are valid Uma ji, but only hurling a stone one day will not work, you will have to take to streets to protest. The government of Mamaji (in reference to CM Chouhan) has no consideration of sisters and daughters; it is just interested in the revenue.”
Talking to media persons at the Congress headquarters in Bhopal, Kamal Nath said in MP petrol, diesel, domestic gas, ration, fertilisers, seeds, electricity, everything is becoming costlier, only liquor is getting cheaper. “This is the current scenario under the Shivraj government. Shivraj ji wants that whosoever is facing hardship due to costly ration should go to the liquor shop and buy the drinks,” Nath said. He also said the state government should reduce taxes on fuel to make it cheaper.
Earlier in the day, Nath tweeted, “People are already flustered by the rising prices of petrol-diesel, domestic gas and food items and now the state government has hiked power tariff by average 2.64 per cent. The BJP government is trying to break people who are demanding relief from the price hikes of essentials. Our government took revolutionary steps to provide cheap electricity to people, but since the Shivraj government has come to power, people are getting power bills worth thousands of rupees and now the power tariff has been hiked further. This is the reality of those who give slogans of relief from price rise before elections.”
