Discoursing down

The level of political discourse continues to spiral downwards in Punjab. Starting 2002, when the Congress government took over, day by day,...

The level of political discourse continues to spiral downwards in Punjab. Starting 2002, when the Congress government took over, day by day, the below the belt remarks have now plunged further down. Sample this. 8216;8216;All Akalis are drug peddlers, and I will put all of them into jail8217;8217;, from the CM. Rajya Sabha MP, Sukhbir Singh Badal replies back, 8216;8216;When we return to power, we will release mice inside the tight pyjamas worn by Amarinder8217;8217;.

The sharaab drinkers

Liquor recently became a big electoral issue in Punjab during the by-election held in Ajnala constituency. This border belt near Amritsar is famous for indigenously brewed liquor where almost every alternate household claims exclusive expertise. Tradition has it that whenever somebody is arrested by the police, the family lands up at the police station with a can full of 8216;8216;homemade8217;8217;, and get the accused released. But not any longer.

The entry of liquor baron Ponty Chadha has meant that his private army now keeps an eye on all those who brew their own liquor, and bashes them up publicly. All this has been hapenning with the support of the local police. During the elections, the community of Rai Sikhs, who have brewed liquor for centuries was up in arms against the government. During the final days, both the Congress and the Akali Dal relented and despatched truck loads of jaggery to all and sundry, granting them unofficial permission to brew liquor at home. As prices of jaggery shot up in the Amritsar wholesale market, everyone remarked that the candidate who distributes the largest quantity of jaggery would win.

Needless to say, the ruling party won.

A Patiala peg

Talking of liquor, the government has come up with a unique excise policy. Unlike the previous regime, when some hundred odd contractors were operational, the Congress has squeezed out all of them. By last year, one contractor was controlling over 50 per cent of the trade, and the new policy seeks to decrease the number of contractors even further. The government has brazenly gone ahead to favour monopolistic trade, and liquor prices have doubled during the past two years. The state famous for the Patiala peg is now becoming famous for the Patiala size monopoly as well. And guess who is the Excise secretary of Punjab?

Mukul Joshi, known for having been hauled by the Panchkula police with the wife of his former Chief Secretary.

Compiled by Manraj Grewal