Punjab Assembly Election 2022: Bhagwant Mann of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) slammed the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) after BJP leader and Union minister Smriti Irani accused the Delhi administration of building liquor stores for profit. Bhagwat Mann, the AAP’s chief ministerial candidate in Punjab, slammed the BJP, saying that the money collected from liquor stores would be utilised for infrastructure development.
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He stated that the BJP has only four to five seats and they have nothing to do, so they are just raising questions about the party. He proposed a plan to improve the infrastructure, create schools, and ensure enough electrical supply from the fund raised from the liquors. Mann made this statement while campaigning in Punjab.
Irani made the statement after criticising the Delhi government’s new liquor policy and alleging that the city’s chief minister, Arvind Kejriwal, opened booze establishments just for profit. In a press conference on Friday, she added, “Arvind Kejriwal launched liquor stores and showed he can go to any length for profit.”
Smriti Irani also raised the security of girls passing from the booze store every day and blamed Kejriwal for the issues that will arise.
She also drew a parallel between the Kejriwal administration in the city and the central government, saying: “The BJP is building a temple, and the Kejriwal administration is opening a booze store next to it. In Tilak Nagar, you’ll discover a booze store sandwiched between two gurudwaras. Religion has a code of conduct that the Kejriwal government has broken… and then he promises a ‘nasha-mukt’ Punjab.”
She further stated that the BJP is committed to continuing its protest against the new excise policy till it is repealed by the Kejriwal administration.
The elections in Punjab will be held on February 20 and the results will be declared on 10 March 10.
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Under the new excise policy, the Kejriwal administration has moved out of the booze business in Delhi, licensing out 849 liquor vends to private companies through open tendering. Over 550 liquor outlets have opened in various parts of the city so far, with more on the way.