Advocate Abani Kumar Gaya, Coordinator of Manav Adhikar Suraksha Manch, a philanthropic organisation fighting for protection of human rights, on Tuesday demanded a statement from all candidates across political parties contesting the Brahmapur Municipal Corporation (BMC) election making their stand clear about total prohibition of sale and consumption of liquor in this city, if they come to power.
liquor alone is the root cause of all chaos in the society including the rising incidents of atrocities on women, he said.
Though the State Election Commission (SEC) has stipulated guidelines on limiting of election expenses to Rs 40,000 per candidate but in practice a majority of candidates are spending lakhs of rupees, making the guidelines a farce, Gaya remarked. Some political parties brought film stars and cricketers and such other celebrities to the campaign field by spending huge amounts of unaccounted money, but no law and order or election machinery is taking cognizance of such open violation of code of conduct, he alleged.
A majority of candidates are using more than one vehicle for campaigning and huge quantities of posters, banners and flags crossing the limits set in the SEC guidelines, he added.
The free and open sale of liquor everywhere in the city has become a cause of worry for the denizens. All the candidates should make their views clear with assurances to the public that in event of their winning they would fight for complete prohibition of liquor and help maintain law and order in the city, he demanded.