Bhubaneswar: The Odisha Assembly on Wednesday discussed the excise policy, with the Opposition Congress demanding the resignations of the Chief Minister and Health Minister.
Opposition members of the Congress and the BJP withdrew their agitation after Speaker Pradip Amat allowed a discussion on the state's excise policy.
"The government, in fact, bowed before the opposition and allowed a debate on the liquor tragedy," Congress Chief Whip Prasad Harichandan said.
Demanding resignation of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik and Health Minister Prasanna Acharya, the Opposition members walked out of the Assembly holding them responsible for the death of 40 people.
"The chief minister, who is also in charge of the home department, must resign as the police did not perform its duty in checking circulation of illicit liquor. There is no point in blaming others when the chief minister's own department failed to perform," Harichandan said initiating the discussion from opposition side.
Harichandan, also a former home minister, claimed that the chief minister had rejected proposals given by the excise department to raise the supply of country spirit used for manufacture of alcohol. "As the government failed to meet the market demand, there was adulteration."
Terming the hooch tragedy as man-made and deliberate, the Congress Chief Whip alleged that the faulty excise policy of the state government had led to hooch tragedy several times during the 12-years rule of the BJD government.
Comments
0 comment