Justifying the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government’s move to promote sale of wine through supermarkets and step-in shops, farmer leader and president of Vasantrao Naik Sheti Swavlamban Mission (VNSSM) Kishore Tiwari Thursday dared BJP to announce a liquor prohibition in states ruled by the saffron party.
Tiwari said, “The BJP is deliberately not accepting the difference between wine and liquor. They are trying to project the cabinet decision as anti-people which is incorrect.”
“The BJP’s entire reasoning is driven by politics. I dare the Opposition to enforce total prohibition on liquor in BJP ruled states such as Goa, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh and others,” Tiwari added.
The farmer leader, who is now with Shiv Sena, argued if BJP leaders are genuinely opposed to alcohol, all their top leaders should go to Mahatma Gandhi’s samadhi at Raj Ghat (New Delhi) and take an oath to implement “total prohibition” in the BJP-ruled states before commenting about other states.
“I openly challenge the Opposition leader in the state assembly, Devendra Fadnavis, and the Opposition leader in state council, Pravin Darekar, to make a demand to Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar and Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant to withdraw their free-for-all liquor policies before playing wine politics in Maharashtra,” Tiwari said.
Earlier, in a jibe at the MVA government, state BJP president Chandrakant Patil had said, “We don’t drink wine or liquor. How can we know the difference? NCP leader Sharad Pawar should educate us on this.”
Pawar had stated those opposing the wine decision taken by the MVA government failed to understand the difference between hard liquor and wine. He had also stated that he would have no problem if the state government were to reconsider its decision.
However, the MVA government has termed the Opposition protest as double standards.
