Former Union minister Uma Bharti on Sunday vandalised a liquor shop in Bhopal by throwing a rock to smash the bottles. In a series of tweets, Bharti said that she has warned the local administration to shut down the store within a week.
In her tweets, Bharti said that the liquor shop is situated at slum in the Barkheda Pathani area of Bhopal.
“The money that these labourers [who live in the slum] earn gets wasted in these shops,” she wrote on Twitter. “The residents have raised objection as the liquor shop violates the government’s policy.”
She also said that the local administration had failed to close down the shop despite repeated promises. “The administration gave assurances several times in the past that it would close the shop, but this has not happened for many years,” she said.
Bharti has long been campaigning for a total prohibition of liquor in the state, the Indian Express reported. On March 10, Bharti also met Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan regarding a liquor ban in the state.
Last year, Bharti had said that she would have alcohol completely banned in Madhya Pradesh. However, contrary to her demands the Madhya Pradesh government on January 19, allowed thesale of liquor at all the airports and select supermarkets in the state, Mint reported. Under a new excise policy, the government slashed alcohol rates, making liquor cheaper by 10% to 13%.
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