On Tuesday BJP leader and Rajya Sabha MP Subramanian Swamy suggested that the government should issues e-passes "after the buyer provides his Aadhaar card number". His however was followed by a comment about how women were 'sane' and did not imbibe.
Following the novel coronavirus outbreak, there had been a pan India lockdown put in place at the end of March. Alcohol, not being considered an essential product, liquor shops were kept shut for over a month, before relaxations came into place recently. Since then people have taken to frequenting liquor shops, and serpentine queues can be snaking out of stores.
"This liquor lines are becoming a menace. Govt should online issue e-pass after the buyer provides his Aadhaar card number," Swamy suggested, adding that the amount could be fixed and collected from "his" account.
The parliamentarian then went on to explain that he was not saying "her" because as he opined, "women are sane and don’t touch liquor'.
While social distancing norms are being followed, there have, in many cases, been frequent violations. In many parts of the country, the police have had to step in, and temporary shutdown of shops had also been put in place.
Several states, including Tamil Nadu, Delhi, West Bengal and Chhattisgarh have already ensured that people don't crowd physical stores by making online sale and home delivery of liquor the only available option.
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