Ashok Gehlot too sounds like a Sri Ram Sene activist
The Congress will have to set its house in order first before casting the first stone against Karnataka chief minister B S Yeddyurappa.
By Rituraj Tiwari, ET Bureau |
JAIPUR: The Congress will have to set its house in order first before casting the first stone against Karnataka chief minister B S Yeddyurappa. Even as it blames the BJP government in Karnataka for failing to stop Sri Ram Sene activists from attacking a pub in Mangalore, its Rajasthan chief minister, Mr Ashok Gehlot, is personally initiating action against ���pub culture��� in the state.
���The state government would take some tough decisions to stop the culture of boys and girls going hand-in-hand to pubs and malls for drinking,��� declared Mr Gehlot.
Apart from making such a remark, Mr Gehlot���s measures seem to be to discourage drinking. The state government has decided to increase VAT on liquor and beer from 12.5% to 20% from the next fiscal. What���s more, the state cabinet has decided to hike the license fee of bars. The cabinet has declared January 30, the anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi���s martyrdom, a dry day. The state already observes Republic Day, Independence Day, Mahatma Gandhi Jayanti and Mahaveer Jayanti as dry days.
The cabinet has decided to close about 800 shops selling branded liquor in the state, reducing the number of such outlets to 1000 in the state. The state government has already scrapped licenses of 156 liquor outlets operating near educational institutes and temples.
It has also decided to set aside 1% of total excise revenue, Rs 22 crore, every year for social rehabilitation of hooch producers and setting up free drug de-addiction centres.
���The state government would take some tough decisions to stop the culture of boys and girls going hand-in-hand to pubs and malls for drinking,��� declared Mr Gehlot.
Apart from making such a remark, Mr Gehlot���s measures seem to be to discourage drinking. The state government has decided to increase VAT on liquor and beer from 12.5% to 20% from the next fiscal. What���s more, the state cabinet has decided to hike the license fee of bars. The cabinet has declared January 30, the anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi���s martyrdom, a dry day. The state already observes Republic Day, Independence Day, Mahatma Gandhi Jayanti and Mahaveer Jayanti as dry days.
The cabinet has decided to close about 800 shops selling branded liquor in the state, reducing the number of such outlets to 1000 in the state. The state government has already scrapped licenses of 156 liquor outlets operating near educational institutes and temples.
It has also decided to set aside 1% of total excise revenue, Rs 22 crore, every year for social rehabilitation of hooch producers and setting up free drug de-addiction centres.
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