Uttar Pradesh Congress flayed Government’s move to award capital punishment to those who were found involved in supply of spurious liquor resulting into deaths, claiming that the step should be taken earlier on.
“State Government is least bothered about human lives otherwise they had taken the above step when hundred of people died after taking spurious liquor in the State”, pointed UPCC spokesman, Sanjay Bajpayee, alleging that Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, is more concerned of loss of revenue through liquor sale so now he take the step of awarding capital punishment or other strict action.
Bajpay said that the insensitivity of the chief minister is also evident from the fact that he asked the law enforcing agencies to use force and even arrest the women, who were agitating to demand ban of liquor sale in the State when Yogi came to power.
“Women were caned and lodged in jail by Yogi as he wanted to crush their demand of ban on liquor sale and see his exchequer increasing even if people are dying”, he alleged while reacting to state government’s cabinet decision taken on Tuesday.
It may be mentioned that to tighten the screws on the state's illicit liquor mafia, the State government has decided to add a section in the Excise Act to provide for death penalty or life imprisonment for those responsible for hooch deaths. The government believed that smuggling of liquor from Haryana and decline in liquor sale due to fear after hooch tragedy, had resulted into collection of less excise revenue than collected in the same period earlier on.