Two Maharashtra ministers in controversy over bar inauguration

Should a Minister inaugurate a Family Restaurant cum Permit Room especially since his own government has pushed for an alcohol ban in one of the districts in the state?

Two Maharashtra Ministers have found themselves embroiled in a controversy after they were present during an inauguration of a Family Restaurant and Bar near Pune.

Maharashtra Minister of State for Home, Ram Shinde an MLA from the BJP and Deepak Kesarkar a Shiv Sena MLA and Minister of State for Finance and Rural Development had on Saturday present at the inauguration of Kirti Family Restaurant on the Ahmednagar-Pune road on Saturday night.

While Ram Shinde inaugurated the restaurant, Kesarkar was also one of the guests present during the inauguration. The two ministers are now facing criticism as to how were they present for the inauguration of the Permit Room especially after the Maharashtra government this year banned the sale alcohol in Chandrapur district in Vidarbha. The move came after Maharashtra’s Finance Minister Sudhir Mungantiwar pushed for a ban in Chandrapur citing the ‘disastrous’ impact of alcohol on people.

Shinde and Kesarkar have however claimed that the Permit Room already existed and and they just inaugurated the Family Restaurant.