Çhennai: A dawn to dusk bandh called by some opposition parties in Tamil Nadu did not disrupt normal life even as the state on Tuesday witnessed a series of protests demanding total prohibition.
The anti-liquor movement in Tamil Nadu appears to be growing stronger with the protestors demanding that all liquor stores be shut.
Outside the Madras High Court, a group of law college students staged a protest demanding prohibition. The police were out in large numbers to prevent violence across the state after student protesters ransacked a state-run liquor store in Chennai on Monday.
A student protestor, Balaji, said, “The police is the one protecting the The Tamil Nadu State Marketing Corporation(TASMAC) . We are protesting against the government in peaceful manner.”
Calls for prohibition in Tamil Nadu have grown louder after activist Sasi Perumal died while demanding the closure of a liquor store in Kanyakumari on Friday. Following his death, opposition parties like the MDMK and the VCK called for a state-wide dawn to dusk bandh on Tuesday. But normal life remained largely unaffected with shops remaining open and buses plying across the state.
Leading the protest, former MP and VCK leader Thol Thirumavalavan said, “We are protesting not to get votes, but for people’s welfare. Today the Tamil Nadu government has reached a point where they protect the TASMAC shop rather than the people of its state.”
The ruling AIADMK has however dismissed the anti-liquor protests and the bandh as a political stunt by its rivals in the run up to the 2016 Assembly elections. Considered the cash-cow for the government state-run liquor stores brought in over Rs 26,000 crore last year.
CR Saraswathi, Spokesperson of the AIADMK sharply reacted to the protests describing them as a mere election gimmick. She said “all these opposition party people whether MDMK or otherwise – just for election they are creating a problem. It’s not for the welfare of the people. Even Vaiko was with ADMK and DMK alliance. They can’t face Amma on political ground. They want to create a law and order problem. People will never support them”.
But with her arch-rival the DMK also planning to hold protests demanding total prohibition in the days to come the question is will the state-wide agitation force the Jayalalithaa government to re-think its liquor policy?
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