Chhatarpur (MP): Former Madhya Pradesh chief minister Uma Bharti Lashed out at the BJP government on Monday over regarding the "unregulated" sale of liquor and extracting monetary gains from it. She said that revenue from liquor should not be the fundamental basis of the economy. The former CM is back in action, searching for her political ground in Bundelkhand.
Hitting out at the Shivraj Singh Chouhan government, she said that the revenue generated from liquor is estimated at Rs 14,000 crore while during her rule, it was "around Rs 900 crore only". She further added that even though she did not ban liquor completely, she did whatever she could to eliminate the liquor mafia.
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Alleging the BJP of running the economy on liquor sales, she said: "Running the government with the revenue collected from liquor is like running the house by drinking the blood of one's child." Bharti said that drug addiction is a disease and if not banned, it shouldn't be promoted at least.
The former CM said there was an "error" in the current liquor policy, which needed to be rectified. She suggested that there should be a guideline for where liquor can be sold and consumed. "The government needs to set criteria for the location of a liquor shop or bar as it hampers the social environment. Liquor should not be sold within one kilometre radius of religious, educational, and government institutions," she said.
