Devil's Advocate

We all know that Gujarat is a dry state. We all know this too well that assuming no one in Gujarat wants to booze is quixotic. Then why does the Chief Minister of Gujarat wants to ban the sale of liquor??? Why this moral policing on the state subjects??? This question becomes all too pertinent in the wake of the recent hooch tragedy wherein at least 76 people have succumbed to spurious liquor. Don't know how many more would be engulfed.

Liquor is bad. It breaks off families. It is the root cause of many a social evil. And much much more. We all have been taught this since time immemorial. Ministers galore have bashed boozing. Some have even walked the extra mile to even ban it. But they forget one important fact- that liquor alone fills the state coffers. Much like the sale of tobacco. Men are fallible. And many a men have fallen for it and wasted off their lives and the lives of even their loved ones.

But do these acts of some merit the reason for banning liquor and in turn be incomprehensibly indifferent to a section of society which enjoys it responsibly??? Utterly wrong. It would be like banning driving because some are rash drivers.

Also a dry state is a misnomer. An oxymoron. Look at Gujarat. Do you really think its dry as in dry??? Well you'll be wrong if you do. States like Rajasthan, MP and Maharashtra are the ones which harbour liquor smugglers. And hooch??? Well spurious liquor is a reality. The states may turn a blind eye to its existence but incidents like these surface every now and then killing many (http://ibnlive.in.com/news/dry-state-gujarat-reels-under-hooch-tragedy/96745-3.html?from=rssfeed).

Its better to let the subjects have what they want- liquor. Regulate its sale. And please please please curb the sale of hooch. Or else the hiccups will not be of the one's intoxicated but those of the chief minister.....