PM Modi gives consent selling
liquor to raise money
Syed Ali Mujtaba
At a time when in India places of worship of all religions are
closed and there is a lock down situation in the country, the BJP government at
the center has given consent to the state government’s request to open all
liquor stores across the country from May 4, 2020, the 40th day of the Covid-19
containment.
India saw an unprecedented crowd outside liquor stores across
the country, following the opening of wine stores. No one seemed to care about
the lock-in or the norms of social distancing and everyone wanted to stifle
their efforts without worrying about the dreaded infection that surrounds them.
Like thirsty crows, people approached the liquor stores with
a queue of nearly two kilometres almost everywhere in the country. The amount
of alcohol they purchased could be determined by the fact that, in Karnataka
alone, a value of Rs 45 crores of alcohol was sold on the first day and on the
second day, the sale went to Rs 147 crores. A person bought alcohol worth
52,281 rupees from the Vanila Spirit Zone store in Bangalore. His receipt is
going viral in the social media.
A similar situation was also observed in northern India.
Uttar Pradesh, is reported to have earned 100 crore rupees from the sale of the
evil drink on the first day. The holy city of Varanasi, which is represented by
the Prime Minister of India, saw a sale of 4 crores on day one. This suggests
how thirsty people have been for alcohol since the lock down began on March 25.
If there was a desperation seen in the mood of people
flocking to the wine stores, equal desperation was seen on the part of the
governments to open the wine business. As
the economy is in ruins, the government appeared to be in a great hurry to raise
funds to deal with the increase in spending. And this was done by selling
alcohol, even at the cost of its detrimental effects on the society.
We can remember a speech given on 05 October 2017 by Prime
Minister Narendra Modi, in which he expressed his concerns about the growing
problem of alcoholism among young people in India. He said the youth of the
country would be ruined in the next 25, years if the alcohol menace was not
checked. The Prime Minister then claimed to be the savior of Indian society,
wanted to save young people from being the victim of alcoholism.
Like a proverbial Indian speaking from two mouths, one at front
and other at back, the Prime Minister now likes to talk from the back, encouraging
alcoholism among youth in the country. Now, he does not see this as a social
evil and is in the mood to discourage the same. His priority now is to revive
the declining economy and he feels this can be done by selling alcohol in the
country.
In doing so the PM even likes to sacrifice all the gains made
from the forty days of lock down to flatten the Covid curve. This was seen when people
jostled in the queue for a bottle of wine. The government had made no provision
for the thermal tests on the thirsty crows. There were no paramedic teams to test
the viral symptoms among the triplers. Even the police were not asking to maintain
the social distancing norms and they were seen being a spectator of the crowd. This
was a huge blunder and height of irresponsibility on the part of the
government.
The Godi media went out in large numbers looking for Tabligi
Jamaat members in the crowd of triplers to do a juicy story on Muslims drinking
during the holy month of Ramadan. However, there was nothing of that sort in
the crowd of revelers and they had to make a retreat.
The thirsty crow sight could have been could have been a nice
story to blame the government being responsible for spreading the pandemic in
the country. The opening wine stores have undone the lock down gains and since
none was seen in protective gear it was a sure invitation to the unseen enemy to
make an attack upfront.
The other story could have been the evil effects of alcohol
consumption and cause of many socio-economic problems in India. The message such
story could be the treatment cost of alcoholic could be three times more than
the revenue earned by the government from alcohol sales.
In a situation when there is media curfew an
anti-establishment story that could be treated as anti-national activity.
Therefore no media outlets can commits such a heinous crime of presenting the
actual facts before the people!
To all these developments, a spirit has found an explanation;
when a drunkard falls, no one will lift him, but when the country’s economy
falls, it is the drunkard who is going to lift it and that’s why the Prime
Minister gave his consent to open the wine shops.
Inspired by the huge sale of alcohol in the country, the
state governments have decided to impose a “special Corona tax” on the price of
bottles of alcohol. The move aims to increase government revenues that are hit
hard by the closure of such shops due to the Covid-19 lock down.
The causality of such decision is the concerns raised by the Prime
Minister Narendra Modi in his speech on October 5, 2017. India is the largest
consumer of alcohol in the world. There
is massive problem of alcoholism especially among the youth.
The fact is, the drinking age in in India is dropping considerably.
The first exposure to alcohol is now somewhere in the age group of about 15
years. Even students in upper secondary schools are consuming alcohol. It is
not uncommon to find students stacking bottles in their hostel rooms.
The additional concern
is the increasing number of women, especially girls consuming alcohol. Women
from wealthy families take alcohol in social parties and some girls are adapting
such habits seeing their elders. Everyone seems to have come to terms with such
social norm. They see this development as an inevitable part of the modern day lifestyle.
Notwithstanding where the society is going or whether the country’s
GDP rate is increasing or not, the rate of alcohol consumption in India is
increasing steadily. Currently this rise has scaled the rate of 8% per year.
As the recent phenomenon of government support given to alcohol
consumption went viral on May 4 after the opening of the wine shops, a teetotaler
has developed a satire on such human saga during Covid 19 lock down.
There were three people watching the long queue in front of
the wine shops. First suggested, the government should consider supplying
alcohol through ration stores or distributing the ration through liquor stores
as it could take care of both; food and drink at one place. He also suggested
opening a pawn shop next to the wine store, so those who want bottle can
mortgage their women’s jewelry and buy the drinks.
This wise idea was shot down by the second man who said it won’t
work simply because it is women who go to ration shops and not the men. They
will never buy a bottle which is a social evil and certainly not after keeping
their jewelry with the pawnbrokers.
As the two men had closed their heads thinking about what to
do, the third man enters and unlocks the situation. He came up with a brilliant
idea and suggested, at a time when the country is facing the Covid crisis and
when social locking and distancing are the norm, the government should consider
selling alcohol online and its distribution can be done by Swiggy and Zomato
delivery boys.
This can serve many purposes. First, this would avoid large
gatherings in front of the wine shops and people will receive drinks at their
door steps. Second, the government can make money as much they can, and third,
the crony capitalists can make money in the distribution system.
In such a case, all the three stakeholders; those in the
search for bottles, the government and the capitalist buddies will be in a
win-win situation. And this could be the best way for the country to collectively
fight the Covid-19 war.
Even though there is no consensus on this subject, PM
Minister Modi seems convinced what he is doing is right. He did so when he announced
the demonetization, again when he announced the lock down, and now he is doing again
ordering opening the sale of wine.
--
Syed Ali Mujtaba is a journalist based in Chennai. He can be
contacted at syedalimujtaba2007@gmail.com
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