Liquor policy: Maharashtra govt turning state of saints into wine-whisky marketplace, says Awhad

Thane: NCP (SP) leader Jitendra Awhad on Sunday slammed the Maharashtra government's liquor policy and alleged it would drive the state, which is a land of saints, into alcoholism and cause distress to lakhs of families.

Addressing a press conference, Awhad said the BJP-led Mahayuti government is planning to issue licences for 328 new liquor shops across the state to "cope with the financial burden of schemes like Ladki Bahin Yojana (under which women are given monthly aid of Rs 1500 under certain conditions)".

"This liquor driven policy to fill an empty treasury is a betrayal of families. To pay the Ladki Bahin (beloved sister), this government will cheat brothers, husbands and fathers. The Devendra Fadnavis government will go down in history for selling alcohol licences instead of preserving public health," he asserted.

The state of saints like Dnyaneshwar, Tukaram, Tukadoji Maharaj and Gadge Baba is being reduced to a marketplace of wine and whisky, the MLA from the Sharad Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party (SP) claimed.

"Today, licences that were cancelled 50 years ago are being sold at Rs 1 crore, when the same are worth Rs 15 crore. I have a list of 47 directors of firms who are making the rounds of Mantralaya (for these licences). These are the people benefiting from this corrupt system," he alleged.

This government does not care if water is available in every household but there must be full supply of alcohol, he said.

"If this is their vision and model of governance, then sell Gateway of India as well for money. When the state government tried something similar in 1974, stalwarts like Mrinaltai Gorhe, Ahilyabai Rangnekar, and Madhu Dandavate led an uprising that forced a rollback. Fifty years later, this government is testing the same fire again," Awhad said.

He urged citizens of the state, especially women, to come out on the streets to oppose the state government's liquor policy.

He cited the alleged sale of liquor in prohibited areas in the Yeoor stretch of Sanjay Gandhi National Park, adding that excise officials were hand in glove in this racket.

Incidentally, on July 8, Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, who holds the finance and state excise portfolios, had informed the assembly that no new liquor licences have been granted in the state since 1972 though transfers of existing licences from one location to another are permitted following due procedure.

He also told the assembly there was no legal provision under existing rules that allowed municipal corporations to pass resolutions revoking liquor licences within their jurisdiction.

Pawar was responding to a a calling attention notice given by Panvel BJP MLA Prashant Thakur regarding cancellation of liquor licences in Kharghar and declaring it an alcohol-free zone.