More liquor than crackers, says BJP

Chennai: Deepavali is all about we­aring brand new clo­thes, bursting crackers and savouring sweets. But, surprisingly the amount of rupees shelled out on boo­zing on the day of the festival of lights exceeded the sum spent on crackers. This has shocked some senior leaders in the state unit of the BJP.

Unsuspecting to the ma­jority of those who celebrated the festival, those addicted to drinks had spent about Rs 154 crore on liquor. “However the sale of crackers had been only to the tune of Rs150 crore in Chennai,” a senior leader in the BJP said.

Noting that it was sad that people took drinking liquor far more seriously than celebrating Dee­p­avali, he said this emerging trend indicated omino­us signs on the health as­pects of the people.

The party, which has been protesting against the TASMAC outlets in front of temples and sch­ools, has decided to step up its agitation. This will be one of the issues in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections. Sources said the BJP’s Mahila Morcha (women’s wing) will take up the issue to highlight the sufferings of women and girls on account of the increasing habit of alcoholism among people.

A cracker wholesaler, blamed the delay in establishing the outlets on the Island Grounds and rain playing spoilsport which had contributed to the dip in the sale of fireworks this season compared to last year.

“Instead of closing down the shops on festival days, TASMAC has fixed sales target. More sales mean more trouble for consu­mers and eventually we would end up having a population battling with diseases and other social menace,” says Dr Tamilis­aisoundarajan, national secretary of the BJP.