Congress demands ECI to probe ‘illicit smuggling’ of liquor from Punjab to poll-bound Gujarat

Aman Sood

Tribune News Service

Patiala, November 1

The Congress on Tuesday demanded a high-level probe in alleged liquor smuggling from Punjab to poll bound Gujarat. Senior Congress leader and Punjab’s leader of the opposition (LoP), Partap Singh Bajwa asked the Election Commission of India to intervene and check inflow of liquor in Gujarat from Punjab.

Bajwa criticized the Bhagwant Mann government for its failure to check liquor smuggling to other states including Gujarat. Bajwa said Gujarat is a dry state and will very soon go into Assembly polls.

Bajwa urged the Election Commission of India (ECI) to also “take note of this” so that free and fair polls were conducted in Gujarat. “The accused who ordered such liquor and the ones supplying it from Punjab need to be brought to the fore”, he told TNS.

Amidst the aforesaid scenario, Punjab-made liquor was being smuggled with impunity to Gujarat to influence the voters. In fact, some of the media reports even revealed that Punjab-made liquor was being smuggled to the dry state of Bihar as well as to the neighboring state of Haryana.

Recently the Punjab Police unearthed a nexus wherein the liquor meant to be sold at the state vends was allegedly being smuggled to “poll-bound Gujarat”.

On Thursday The Tribune had reported how the Patiala police had unearthed a nexus, wherein the liquor meant for sale at the state vends was allegedly being smuggled to “poll-bound Gujarat” and had seized around 600 cartons of illicit liquor from a truck.

“About two months ago the CIA wing of Jind police in Haryana had arrested a man for illegally supplying liquor from Punjab to Gujarat. Bajwa said these incidents were just the tip of the iceberg”, Bajwa said.

“Ever since the Punjab government introduced the new Excise Policy and has given a free hand to the distilleries and liquor groups to sell as much liquor in the state in its bid to enhance revenue the problem of smuggling to other states has come to the fore from all across India”, said Bajwa.

Meanwhile, while no action has been initiated against any excise officials who failed to check such smuggling by a liquor contractor, who owns various vends, the department has issued a challan to the erring contractor. “Three challans have been issued and the file for further necessary action has been sent to seniors”, said Patiala AETC, Inderjeet Nagpal.

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#Congress #Gujarat #Partap Singh Bajwa #Punjab Police