‘Where is the Chowkidar of Bhopal’ asked excise minister Brijendra Singh Rathore while taking on BJP over the delay in declaration of the candidate for Bhopal Lok Sabha seat. “The BJP is such a fix that it is not able to choose the candidate for Bhopal, they are planning to sacrifice Union minister Narendra Tomar by pitting him against Digvijaya Singh from Bhopal, said the minister while talking to media persons here on Wednesday.
Rathore exuded confidence that former chief minister Digvijaya Singh will win the elections from the constituency. “Former chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan could be a better candidate for Bhopal seat, but BJP will not give him the ticket,” he added. The excise minister also targeted former ministers accusing them of spreading rumours about Congress government sanctioning new liquor shops in the state.
The former BJP ministers are making false statements that Congress government was giving permission to club the foreign liquor and country-made liquor shops, said the minister. “The government has not given any permission to open new liquor shops or to allow selling of foreign liquor in country-liquor shops,” asserted the minister. Stating that government has raised the tax to 20 per cent on the liquor, the minister claimed that decision will bring Rs 400 crore in the state coffers. The previous government had proposed to levy 15 per cent tax on liquor for financial year 2019-2020, however Congress government after coming to power has raised it to 20 per cent, informed the minister.
