Crackdown on liquor sale in election season
- The People's Chronicle Editorial :: December 25, 2021 -

EVEN if the order issued by the deputy commissioner of excise asking enforcement agencies to increase frequency of raid and seize illicit liquor has not specified whether or not the move has anything to do with the pre-poll violence in Heirok assembly constituency that took place on December 23 night, it's an undeniable fact that liquor consumption generally increases whenever election is round the corner.

For the last many years, civil societies have been accusing candidates of directly or indirectly abetting use of addictive substances during elections.

Though such allegations were not substantiated with hard proofs it's an open secret that alcoholic drinks including imported as well as local liquor flow freely in the run-up to the periodical democratic exercise.

In fact, law enforcement agencies conduct raids at drinking joints, unauthorised sale outlets and pull up civilians found drinking.

However, neither the police nor the civil society activists dare to carry out searches at residences of candidates to prevent substance abuse.

Of course, no sane candidate would take the risk of stockpiling liquor or drugs in his/her residential premises but there must be a reason to see habitual substance abusers relishing election times and loitering around the candidates' houses or at election offices set up in different localities.

Interestingly, the deputy commissioner mentioned that the order to raid and seize liquor is aimed at ensuring smooth conduct of the upcoming assembly elections.

For the record, a recent report on 'Crime in India 2020' published by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) listed Tripura as the top state in the northeastern region in terms of political conflict, with 0.5 per cent crimes per one lakh people, followed by Arunachal Pradesh with 0.1 per cent and Manipur.

The report claimed that in 2020, Tripura registered around 22 cases of political conflicts while Arunachal Pradesh and Manipur recorded one each.

In sectarian conflicts, except Manipur with five cases in 2020, no other northeast states registered such cases.

The figures might be dismissible but one can't ignore the fact that NCRB mainly records major incidents based on official inputs while the minor ones are not taken into account.

However, frequent seizure of substantial quantities of both Indian Made Foreign Liquor and locally brewed alcoholic beverages throughout the year by volunteers of anti-drug campaigners like Coalition Against Drugs and Alcohol (CADA) and activists of women vigilante groups underscore thriving liquor black-market in the state.

That such contraband liquor consignments are seized mainly from hotels licensed to operate as eateries gives an impression that there are many peoplewho are well versed about deceiving or greasing the palm of members of enforcement agencies in order to continue their multi-pronged but socially menacing trade.

In states where sale of liquor is legal, taxes on the sale of alcohol and excise on manufacturing spirits enable the governments to splurge on social sector schemes, especially the trademark programmes to supply free rice to nearly all ration card holders, distribute consumer goods and maintain its pioneering nutritious noon meal scheme for all children in government and aided schools and anganwadis.

However, in Manipur's case illegal business of liquor only abets social crimes, especially during elections.

Therefore, the oniy option left is to strictly enforce law of the land and put an effective end to black-marketing of liquor.