Tamil Nadu BJP president K. Annamalai on Saturday said that his party will soon publish a “White Paper” which will show how the State government’s dependence on Tasmac for revenue can be avoided.
Addressing the media after a protest organised here by the BJP condemning the State government for the recent tragedy in which 22 people died after consuming spurious liquor, he said this would be the first time a party not in power would be bringing out such a report. He said the report would comprehensively show how the government could tap into alternative sources for revenue, regulate Tasmac better, and drastically reduce the number of shops.
He said the report would expose the arguments of the DMK government that closing down of Tasmac shops would lead to increased prevalence of illicit liquor and loss of revenue to the government.
He alleged that no other State in the country had such a high number of liquor shops like Tamil Nadu. Arguing that the percentage of people addicted to alcohol has more than doubled than what it was in the past two decades, he said the Tasmac model followed in the State was becoming unsustainable.
He alleged that the State was not just dependent on the revenue from Tasmac, but was actively trying to push the sales up by pressurising officials. He further alleged that the breweries run by those close to the ruling party were making huge money, a significant portion of which ought to be ideally going to the State exchequer.
He said the report to be brought out by his party would show how 80% of the Tasmac shops could be shut down in the near future. The party had organised protests in multiple places across the State on Saturday over the issue.
Published - May 20, 2023 11:23 pm IST
