The Hindu Business Line : Women's association seeks total prohibition

"We will ban arrack and adhere to the prescribed norms in selling liquor," Mr D. Srinivas, President of the Pradesh Congress Committee, said, addressing a State-level seminar held here.

"But, if voted to power, we don't mind spending Rs 200-300 crore on publicity to tell people about the ill-effects of consuming liquor," he said.

Taking objection to his remarks, Ms Mallu Swarajyam, national Vice-President of AIDWA, said the women in the State would not settle for anything less than the total ban on liquor sales.

Ms Swarajyam, a Telengana Armed Struggle veteran, asked the Congress leader, who was exiting from the seminar hall, to stop and listen to her reply. "We tell you, the women in the State will not rest until their demand for total prohibition is met," she said.

The association brought the leaders of various political parties to a common platform to discuss the issue.

"We invited them all. But Telugu Desam said it could not participate as a matter of policy, while BJP kept mum on our invitation," Ms Swarajyam said.

Addressing the seminar, Mr Suravaram Sudhakara Reddy, Secretary of Communist Party of India (CPI), alleged that a large number of ruling party legislators were responsible for the failure of the ban. "And citing the failure as an excuse, the Telugu Desam Party lifted the ban."

"It was voted to power by promising the prohibition. But after coming to power, it lifted the ban," he added.

Mr B.V. Raghavulu, Secretary of CPM's State unit, alleged that the Government followed the World Bank advice and lifted the ban "Liquor companies are thronging the State thanks to the 120 per cent increase in the annual sales here," he said.

Mr Asaduddin Owaisi, Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen leader, came down heavily on the Government for indirectly abetting liquor consumption by setting sales targets for the Excise Department. "There's no drinking water for the people. But they have abundant liquor to consume," he regretted.

In a resolution passed at the seminar, the association demanded that the Government should do away with the policy of encouraging liquor consumption for income generation.

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