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Journalism of Courage
This is an archive article published on September 1, 2022
At de-addiction event, Chhattisgarh education minister suggests liquor unites people, calls for ‘dilution’
Premsai Singh Tekam, the Congress MLA from Pratappur, quoted from noted poet Harivansh Rai Bachchan's 'Madhushala' to make his point.
Premsai Singh Tekam (Facebook/File Photo)
Chhattisgarh Education Minister Premsai Singh Tekam has sparked a controversy by suggesting liquor unites people but it must be consumed in moderation by “diluting”.
Ironically, Premsai Singh Tekam was speaking at a de-addiction drive in Wadrafnagar of Balrampur district Wednesday.
The Congress MLA from Pratappur quoted noted poet Harivansh Rai Bachchan’s ‘Madhushala’ to make his point. “Mandir masjid jhagada karate, lekin ek karai madhushala (Mandir, masjid make people fight, alcohol unites them),” he said.
A one-minute video of Tekam’s speech at the programme, organised by the police, has gone viral online. In the video, the minister can be heard saying: “It all depends on self-control. I had gone to a meeting where one side was speaking against alcohol while another was speaking for alcohol. Everyone consumes alcohol, we also consume it sometimes, during elections.”
The minister went on to explain that daaru (liquor) means ‘D’, which also stands for dilution as well as duration. “Alcohol needs to be mixed with as much water as possible, for dilution. And it needs to be consumed over duration, not chugged,” he added.
At the same event, the minister, when talking about the repair work of roads, told reporters that “fewer accidents take place at places where roads are in poor condition”. Whereas roads in good condition witness an accident every day because of speeding vehicles, he said.
“We do take action when complaints are received. But we have seen, accidents increase on good roads, whereas people are cautious on bad roads,” he said.
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The minister’s comments came at a time when BJP leaders in Chhattisgarh have been attacking the Congress government over its alcohol policy. “This government only knows how to waste resources on guests from Jharkhand, serving them alcohol. This Congress government came to power by promising a ban on alcohol in their manifesto,” BJP leader Gouri Shanker Shrivas said in a statement Tuesday.
Shrivas was referring to the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha-Congress MLAs who have been moved to Chhattisgarh to resist any possible poaching bid by the BJP.
© The Indian Express Pvt Ltd
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