Political parties divided over BJP's guarantee to restrict

Hyderabad, Oct 15 Political parties are partitioned over the BJP's proposition in its yet-to-be-released election
manifesto to restrict sale of alcohol in Telangana.

"How can I comment on somebody else's manifesto?" a senior Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) leader reacted when asked his party's view on the matter.

Another TRS leader noted that the BJP was yet to formally discharge the proclamation and included that the gathering may remark after it's actually unveiled.

A key Congress functionary said he respected the proposition on an individual level but pointed to revenue collection implications for the State.

"This government has taken the income from alcohol sales from Rs 8,000 crore for each annum to Rs 20,000 crore in the last four and half years.

If alcohol sales are curbed, it will hurt the State economy, draining its resources to a significant extent," he said.

The CPI National General Secretary Suravaram Sudhakar Reddy was dismissive about the BJP's proposal.

"They are not going to come to power any way. What's the motivation behind putting forth such an expression. These are vacant articulations like their national declaration like 15 lakh rupees for every family guaranteed by Narendra Modi," Reddy told.

The BJP won five seats in the 2014 Assembly elections in alliance with the TDP, which emerged victorious in 15 constituencies.

This time, the BJP is going only it in the December seven polls for the 119-member Assembly.

The BJP has proposed in its election manifesto, which is in the words works, to control the offer of alcohol, asserting that its unrestricted availability and consumption was leading to several social and law and order problems in the state.

The proposition is to restrict the sale of liquor to five days a week.

"Sale of alcohol will be regulated to five days only.

Every day, timings will be kept up.. After 6 (PM), no wine shop or bar will be open," BJP's manifesto committee chairman N V S S Prabhakar had said.

The TRS government in Telangana and the governments in unified Andhra Pradesh have seen sale of liquor just as a wellspring of income, Prabhakar, who was MLA in the as of late disintegrated Telangana Legislative Assembly, claimed.

The consumption of alcohol is leading to various problems, including atrocities against women, suicides and law and order problems, Prabhakar claimed.