AMRITSAR: While claiming that Sikhs have become the largest consumers of alcohol, BJP leader Jagmohan Singh Raju has sought from Sikh’s single largest representative body Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) to lead an agitation against government's liquor policy demanding to declare dry day on Gurpurab among other measures.
"Almost every third Sikh is reportedly consuming liquor. Unfortunately, alcohol consumption among Sikhs is 30.5% which is much higher than men of other faiths like Hindus which has 25% and 6% in Muslims", said Raju while quoting a report of National Family Health Survey 2019-21 conducted by the Center governments Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
Raju is a former Tamil Nadu IAS officer who had spent 35 years of his service outside Punjab. During the past assembly elections, BJP had fielded Raju from Amritsar East assembly constituency to take on heavyweights like the then Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee president Navjot Singh Sidhu and former Akali minister Bikram Singh Majithia. However, he had lost the elections.
