BHOPAL: CM Shivraj Singh Chauhan, on Tuesday, directed the divisional commissioners and district collectors during his interaction with them through video-conferencing under Samadhan Online programme that all liquor shops located near education institutions, religious places and residential colonies should be removed and new ones won’t be opened there. He also directed that shops against which the residents were protesting should also be removed. The main opposition party in the state, the Congress however cast doubt that Chauhan is serious in doing so as it believes it is just a political gimmick.
In the past one month there has been a public outcry against the opening of new liquor shops in the state. Many places included incidents where protesters resorted to violence while protesting against the liquor shops.
Speaking to The Free Press Journal on the issue, Congress spokesperson Deepti Singh said in Bhopal, the Congress had long ago identified some of the liquor shops located near residential colonies, education institutions or religious places and had been regularly protesting against them urging the government to shut them.
“In the capital itself, we have identified at least eight such liquor shops in various localities like MP Nagar zone-2 where the liquor shop is surrounded by many coaching institutions and girls’ hostels. Then there is one near Karond Square where there is one liquor shop near a higher secondary school. Another one is Ashoka Garden near Mandi Square where there is a temple, a school and residential colonies. We have been staging protests there for long but then the CM didn’t pay any heed but now he is going all out, which clearly suggests that his announcement was just a political gimmick,” she said adding if he was serious in implementing the ban then he should introduce a bill in MP Excise Act and make amendments in it regarding the same.
She further told The Free Press Journal that Chauhan was just trying to gain some political advantage with such announcements. “The CM has no solid intentions to shut down the shops but intentions of seeking political advantage by giving such statements. If he is that serious to implement complete liquor ban in the state, then instead of saying that it would be done in phases, he should come before the public like the PM did during the demonetisation decision, and announce that liquor is banned with immediate effect,” said Singh.
The MP state excise department also seemed to be clueless about the implementation of the CM’s decision as when Free Press contacted commissioner of the department Arun Kochar, he said his department had come to know about the CM’s announcement only through media reports. “We have not received any official instruction from the government in this regard. As soon as we are given any instructions regarding closing down of liquor shops, we would start working towards its implementation,” said Kochar.
