DNA Special: Why Delhi's new liquor policy prompted Anna Hazare to lambast Arvind Kejriwal?

Social activist Anna Hazare on Tuesday wrote a letter to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, slamming his government’s new excise policy. Hazare said it seems the Delhi CM has “sunk into the addiction of power.” He also said it seems the new policy will encourage liquor sales and consumption and spur corruption.

Anna Hazare is worried about the Delhi excise policy which encourages alcohol. The biggest criticism of the excise policy is that it benefited big businessmen who sold liquor to the people of Delhi at a cheap price.

Recently, huge discounts were offered on liquor in the capital with the buy one and get one free offer. Now, if this discount was offered on bottles of milk instead of liquor, then perhaps Arvind Kejriwal would have been praised. 

Let us tell you some main points of Kejriwal's new liquor policy: 

• Under the new liquor policy, the legal drinking age limit in Delhi was reduced from 25 to 21 years. The decision was seen as promoting alcohol.
• Under the new policy, about 650 new liquor shops were opened in Delhi. There were 25 to 26 shops in one zone which have 8 to 9 wards. That means, there were at least 3 liquor shops in each ward.  
• In the new liquor policy, it was allowed to drink alcohol even in open spaces like hotels, bars, clubs and restaurant terraces or galleries. Earlier, there was a ban on drinking alcohol in the open.
• In the new liquor policy, dry day was kept only 3 days a year. Whereas in the old policy, there were 21 days dry days in a whole year. This means that 18 days were extended for drinking alcohol.
• In the new policy, permission was given to open a separate pink booth for women to drink. This was not the case in the old policy. It was believed that this would increase the tendency of women to drink alcohol.
• Under the new liquor policy, all the shops were given to private traders. Earlier, 60 per cent of government shops and 40 per cent of shops were got by private traders. 
• Not only this, liquor was allowed to be sold at a price lower than the MRP, due to which the liquor traders started giving huge discounts to increase sales.

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In order to increase the number of drinkers, the new policy had long planning, due to which the legal drinking age limit was also reduced.

What do you think after seeing all these rules?

Drinking and buying liquor in Delhi was being made as easy as buying flour and rice from a grocery store. And all arrangements were made for its availability and huge discounts. 

And now when Anna Hazare slammed the Aam Aadmi Party government on this issue, he was being criticised himself.