Minister does U-turn on online booze sale

Mumbai: Maharashtra excise minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule backtracked on his statement about online home delivery of liquor after facing strong objection from political parties as well as social media. He said that his statement had been twisted out of context.

“These are the days of the online business system. Many consumers have proposed that the state government start selling liquor online. There are many such proposals pending with the state government. But as per existing laws, such online liquor sale is not acceptable. It will be seen as a crime on the part of the seller. Therefore, the state government does not have any proposal to start such a thing,” the minister said Monday. He was reacting to the reports quoting him that such online sale is under consideration.

Meanwhile, Leader of the Opposition in the Council Dhananjay Munde said, “This government is so insensitive that it is worried about the sale of liquor and not the people facing drought. Such ideas of online sale are coming from the minds of people who don’t care about the people’s real issues. Mr Bawankule should have spoken about providing relief to people over excise duty.”

There were similar reactions from the Congress and other parties, inviting embarrassment for the state government. In a damage control exercise of sorts, Mr Bawankule later denied having said any such thing. “As of now, liquor can be sold only through shops officially permitted by the state government. We are not of any opinion to change this system. I had just said about the proposals from consumers. But my statement was twisted by a few people,” he clarified.