Senior Congress leader and Rajasthan MLA Bharat Singh Kundanpur on Thursday urged Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot to open liquor shops in the state.
Claiming that "drinking alcohol will surely remove coronavirus from the throat", Congress MLA from Sangod, Bharat Singh Kundanpur, has in a letter to Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot urged the reopening of liquor stores in the state, which have been closed in the wake of nationwide lockdown.
"When coronavirus can be removed by washing hands with alcohol, then drinking alcohol will surely remove virus from the throat," Kundanpur wrote in his letter dated April 30.
It will not only save alcoholics from dying of spurious liquor consumption, but also earn the much-needed revenue for the state amid the lockdown-hit economy, he argued. He also alleged that the sale of illegal liquor and bootlegging had become rampant in the state due to the closure of liquor stores during the lockdown.
Talking of the revenue loss to the state, he said, "Rajasthan had set a target of generating a revenue of Rs 12,500 corers from liquor sale in 2020-21, which, he said, seems to be a distant dream now. "It is better to allow resumption of liquor sale in the state so that the booze lovers can get their favourite drinks and the state, its much needed revenue," argued Singh.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had on March 24 announced a 21-day nationwide lockdown as a precautionary measure to contain the spread of COVID-19. The lockdown was later extended till May 3.