Addressing a meeting of women on the occasion of oath taking by the state committee of women's wing of his party, Chiranjeevi expressed concern over the proliferation of liquor shops, especially in the rural areas and its impact on the law and order and the rural economy and growing atrocities on women.
A petition has been filed in the Supreme Court, seeking an independent probe by a special investigation team (SIT) into a recent hooch tragedy in Bihar, in which at least 30 people have lost their lives.
Bharatiya Janata Party leaders have been claiming that "more than 100 people" have died. Most media reports have put the death toll to be more than 50.
The judgment also stated that it would also be applicable to bars, pubs and restaurants as drunken driving leads to fatal road accidents.
The Bihar assembly passed an amendment bill that seeks to make the liquor ban less stringent for first-time offenders in the state.
At least seven persons died and 10 others were admitted to different hospitals after consuming spurious liquor at Rojid village in Botad district of Gujarat, a senior police officer said on Monday.
The relaxation came amid indications that the number of new COVID-19 cases in Mumbai is more or less stabilising since the last few days.
Will the state forgo its lucrative excise collections in a bid to curb sales of liquor in the festive season, asks Mahesh Vijapurkar.
The Supreme Court on Thursday directed the Kerala government not to impose a ban on liquor bars and maintain status quo till September 30.
An ugly spat ensued after a JD-U spokesman took potshots at state BJP president Sanjay Jaiswal over his offer of help to family members of those who died in a hooch tragedy in West Champaran district last year.
The Bihar assembly plunged into turmoil on Saturday when the opposition sought to raise the issue of alleged involvement of revenue and land reforms minister Ram Surat Rai in illicit liquor trade, forcing adjournment of the House around noon till lunch.
According to Santosh Kumar, the superintendent of police of Saran district, three persons each have died in Isuapur and Mashrak police station areas after allegedly consuming spurious liquor on Tuesday night.
Defending the liquor ban in Bihar, he said that the state's prohibition policy has benefitted several people and a large number of people have given up drinking alcohol due to his measures.
Around 2,500 personnel from police and paramilitary have been deployed in the district this year a day before the yatra, police said.
The much-hyped liquor ban in the state has been widely seen as a failed attempt five years after its introduction.
"Hemant Soren repeatedly ignored my advice and eventually landed in jail... he has always been surrounded by wrong advisors," Hembrom, a lawmaker from Borio seat in Sahibganj district, told reporters.
The Supreme Court on Tuesday upheld the Kerala government's policy restricting the sale and consumption of liquor at the bars in five star hotels only and rejecting other hotels serving liquor at bars.
Sale and consumption of alcohol was completely banned in Bihar by the Nitish Kumar government in April, 2016.
Wednesday's Vikravandi by-election has become a referendum on the Stalin government, notes N Sathiya Moorthy.
The announcement was part of late All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam supremo J Jayalalithaa's promise to usher in prohibition in the state in a phased manner, Palaniswami said in his first formal press conference since his elevation as chief minister last week.
The claim comes close on the heels of a BSF jawan's video who alleged poor quality food was being served to the personnel in 29 Battalion in Poonch.
With this, the Congress has lost its last foothold in the north-east.
During a review, the EC found that the performance of some officers was "unsatisfactory" and they were found "complacent, if not complicit" in various matters, including the illegal supply of liquor as a possible poll inducement, sources said.
The two leaders heaped praise upon each other for effectively implementing prohibition in their states, reports M I Khan from Patna.
The latest deaths have been recorded in Samastipur district. Earlier, at least 33 people died in Gopalganj and West Champaran districts upon consuming spurious liquor.
Government is not able to decide on liquor ban as Eid-e-Milad is falling on the eve of Christmas.
ndependent of the political fallout, which Stalin has sought to arrest through the withdrawal of the measures as fast as they were introduced, there are concerns about the way those decisions came to be taken, without adequate application of mind, not in official terms but in political and electoral contexts, points out N Sathiya Moorthy.
Sale of expensive sarees rose by 1,751 per cent while consumption of honey by 380 per cent.
Huma Qureshi's Rani Bharti was the ace in the pack, but everything that she does in this season smacks more of script conveniences than careful plotting, observes Deepa Gahlot.
Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia accused the Bharatiya Janata Party of using agencies like the CBI and Enforcement Directorate to threaten liquor licensees and excise officials but the BJP alleged that the AAP government's 'rushed' move was an 'admission of violations and corruption' and it was 'scared' of the CBI probe.
Seven policemen, including two station house officers (SHOs), were critically injured after a group of villagers attacked a police station in Bihar's Katihar district on Saturday, hours after the death of a man allegedly in custody.
The ruling Congress is seeking to retain power in Chhattisgarh by banking on the welfare schemes of the Bhupesh Baghel government, while the Bharatiya Janata Party is hoping to corner it on the issues of alleged corruption, religious conversions and unfulfilled poll promises.
They realised that the Portuguese were better prepared to defend Daman than Dadra and Nagar Haveli. If reinforcements from Daman were to reach Silvassa, there was no chance of defeating the Portuguese. They decided that cutting Daman's communication lines would have to be their top priority before attacking Silvassa. A fascinating excerpt from Neelesh Kulkarni's new book, Uprising-The Liberation of Dadra and Nagar Haveli.
Opposition attacked the government, saying prohibition law was being used to target Dalits.
On April 5, 2016, the Nitish Kumar-led government imposed total prohibition in Bihar. M I Khan crunches numbers for the REAL picture since then.
Decision of Indu Shahani, principal of Mumbai's HR College, to become a director of United Spirits raises an ethical issue.
The Tamil Nadu Toddy Movement had met both Chief Minister Palaniswami and Stalin to seek their intervention in lifting the ban on toddy-tapping and had submitted petitions, but there it remained. So the matter is being taken to the people's court.
Rediff Labs analyses the relationship between alcohol and revenue generated and reported drunken driving accidents.
With the almost universal breach of the alcohol licensing conditions, once the powers-that-be decide to crack the whip, every restaurant will run into problems. Huge problems, says Sunil Phatarphekar
The scam-ridden Congress government in Chhattisgarh has become a model of misrule and people have decided to root it out in the upcoming assembly elections, he said.
