Alcohol flow must stop during elections
--Look how homes are crumbling
On the evening of March 15, the Government of Odisha, obviously under instructions from the State Election Commission, declared a five-day closure of all alcoholic beverage shops in view of the urban elections across the State. Unfortunately, this declaration would yield no desirable results as between now and the date of closure, there are pretty many days left for the unethical political leaders to stockpile truckloads of liquor of all kinds, ‘IMFL’ and excessively cheap local stuffs. The declaration of shutting down should have borne effect from the same moment the way demonetisation was done. Not a moment should have been allowed to put to use. For sure, the liquor shops will have bumper sales between now and the closure day. The poll crooks will store away more poison than usual to make kills among the youths. The ‘liquor shop closure’ is only a most laughable, futile exercise pleasing none but the indifferent decision makers.
Coincidentally, exactly two days after the panchayat polls were over, 15 highly distressed women and elderly men from a village called Kandagoda in Brahmagiri area in Puri district came up to plead for immediate help from authorities to save the youths of the area. All their young men folks had degenerated to despicable alcoholic wrecks. The political parties had enticed all these highly vulnerable idle guys to garner votes for them, no matter what. They are methodically skill-trained to extract votes from the poor as well as the unethically greedy people by cajoling as much as intimidating them. Local politicians, though contesting on nonpartisan symbols, were all slyly backed by leading mainstream party leaders loaded with money and access to muscle-flexing goons too willing to deliver services.
It is now common knowledge that the easiest way to trap these headless, young creatures is by giving them sumptuous meat-alcohol meals, petrol for two-wheelers and some other fun time. With all this guaranteed, the local youths become temporarily vote snatching machines.
The anxious elderly men and women narrated harrowing tales of guys vanishing from home for days on end and reappearing once in a while back there at wee hours in horrifically inebriated conditions and not failing once to hurl select obscene words on slightest provocation. The elderly members, during election times, find own homes a hostile territory.
On enquiry, they made clear that even though liquor shops were sealed, cartloads of alcohol were available at dedicated points mostly for free for the canvassing youths while enforcement officials chose to look the other way either with bribe money or having come under pressure from some influential people with power and money.
This tale of woe was not a solo story. On enquiry, it was found out that the whole State had many, many disturbed families. All over the State, liquor was the commonest commodity used to keep idle youths on toes. Meat and petrol were lesser attractions. Every election season has its own toll: much younger ineligible teenagers too are not spared. They are indoctrinated into the ‘alcohol culture’ by persuasive techniques, some of them having turned fresh voters.
This painful situation reminds one of what had happened in 2019 during the peak of general elections campaigns. One middle-aged woman, Pooja, living in Valmiki Nagar, a colony chalked out for Scheduled Castes in Linganmath village located 34 kilometres from Dharwad in the South Indian State of Karnataka had gathered for a special meeting with other distressed women. The big agenda was to write letters to the State heads of India’s two key political parties, Bharatiya Janata Party and Congress, specifically to inform them that the residents of Valmiki Nagar had rejected the candidates fielded by them for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. So, they would go for the ‘None of the above’ (NOTA) option.
The reason is simple and clear. No political party has offered to ban alcohol in Karnataka, thereby discarding a longstanding demand of rural women from across the State. “The political crooks have to give us in writing that they will actually ban the sale of alcohol. We feel that the only way our men and sons will stop drinking is if it is not easily available to them anymore. If any political party is willing to do that, then we will change our mind and vote for them. Else, we’ll go with NOTA.” That’s what the anxious women told the people who mattered.
The Odisha scenario is unique with the Naveen Patnaik administration. The guys or girls in charge have to take call on this sensitive matter. Unlike the panchayat elections, the urban bodies’ polls have to be divinely perfect. Young guys must be scared away from being drunken vote gatherers. The BJD is so popular as to seek no other extraneous help or support. There is no chance that any other party can ever steal a single vote kept away for the BJD. Naveen Patnaik has never tolerated any behavioural nonsense so far, as the masses believe and imagine. The poll results are all predetermined in Naveen’s favour. The Odisha BJP outfit is a broken one. The local Congress is a burnt-out entity. It’s only the BJD which the masses of Odisha recognise and respect. Real good guys have been picked by Naveen to guide him. So, it is divine responsibility of these wonderful guys and girls to ensure that ‘liquor flow’ stops during elections. Countless families and homes have been pulled down. The liquor ban has to come into effect as this write-up is visible.
Naveen Patnaik is enviably placed as the best. If his Government cannot stop young guys getting alcoholic because of political crooks, no other person or party can do it ever.