Guwahati: Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) leader Baisistha Bujarbaruah strongly criticized the Himanta Biswa Sarma-led BJP administration on February 18 and demanded that it lessen its reliance on alcoholic beverage sales.
Bujarbaruah argued that the state should instead concentrate on providing dairy licences and on the promotion of campaigns against drugs and other illegal substances in order to protect society while speaking in front of several BJP leaders, including Dilip Saikia, Chandra Mohan Patowary, Jayanta Malla Baruah, Ranjit Das, Ramen Deka, Phani Sarma, and Ashok Sarma.
Bujarbaruah further contended that the state’s government should stop giving liquor licences and instead collaborate with the public to fight drug addiction and use all available tools to end the drug trade.
The comments follow Cabinet Minister Parimal Suklabaidya’s declaration on November 3, 2022, that the government intended to grant more liquor licences to establishments in the state in order to increase consumer access to high-quality, legally produced alcohol and lower the incidence of serious illnesses linked to the use of illicit alcohol. Also, the government will put locally brewed tribal beverages through quality checks before supplying them to customers lawfully.
Suklabaidya emphasised that the government does not encourage alcohol consumption; rather, it works to make sure that individuals who do consume alcohol have access to safe and legal products. He pointed out that drinking low-quality illicit beverages causes at least 30 deaths in the state each year. The state’s excise service nevertheless regularly destroys significant amounts of illegal booze.