Hyderabad: Former minister and BJP leader, D.K. Aruna, on Thursday commenced her two-day hunger strike at Indira Park in Hyderabad, demanding that the state government ban the sale of liquor in the state.
While inaugurating the hunger strike camp, BJP state president Dr K. Lakshman appealed to the BJP workers and people to destroy the belt shops wherever they found them in the state as the belt shops are illegal.
He alleged that the state government instead of controlling liquor sales was encouraging illegal belt shops. While extending support to Aruna for her protest against the liquor sale in the state, he said liquor consumption was the cause for rising crimes against women.
Referring to tweets of IT minister, K.T. Rama Rao, the BJP president sarcastically said, “It is not Brand Hyderabad. It is Brandy Hyderabad.”
He said that the Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, calls for Beti Bachao-Beti Padavo, but Chief Minister, K.C. Rao calls for Bar Bachao - Bar Badaavo.
D.K. Aruna said “it is time to ban the liquor sales in Telangana. If Rao committed to give better futures to the children and women of the state, he has to think seriously and take steps to impose prohibition.”
Maintaining that liquor consumption has taken the lives of innocent and hapless women in the state including Disha, Samatha and another girl in Warangal, she called upon the women to take the strong stand of not allowing their drunken husbands into the house.
Recalling that Rao had promised a liquor-free Telangana during the Telangana movement, she alleged that after coming into power, he has forgotten his promise.
BJP national general secretary, P. Muralidhar Rao, said that it is unfortunate that the chief minister had made Telangana depend and survive on revenue from alcohol and pointed out that every year, the state earns `80,000 crore through liquor sale alone.
BJP MLA Raja Singh questioned whether the chief minister could guarantee not repeating incidents like the Disha gangrape and murder in the future. BJP MLC N. Ramac-handra Rao, former AP MP, Jitender Reddy, BJP mahila morcha president A Vijaya, and some other leaders visited Aruna at the hunger strike site.
