AIADMK general secretary and Leader of the Opposition Edappadi K. Palaniswami on Tuesday charged the ruling DMK with failure to prevent the manufacture and supply of illicit liquor, resulting in the death of 18 persons in Villupuram and Chengalpattu districts since Friday last.
He was speaking to reporters in Villupuram after meeting the victims of spurious liquor undergoing treatment at the Government Villupuram Medical College and Hospital.
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Mr. Palaniswami alleged that both the government and the law enforcement agencies were aware of the sale of illicit liquor. The very fact that about 1,600 arrack sellers had been arrested in the last two days across the State showed how the government was slack all these two years, creating an environment for the bootleggers to carry on their trade with impunity, he argued.
Referring to the deaths following the consumption of spurious liquor in Chengalpattu district, Mr. Palaniswami said the arrested accused, Ammavasai, was the brother of a DMK union councillor at Sithamur. Persons with the strong backing of the ruling party were into the manufacture of illicit brew, which had resulted in the death of innocent persons, he said.
Mr. Palaniswami recalled how he had brought to the notice of Chief Minister M.K. Stalin in the Assembly the rampant availability of illicit liquor in the State. Had the government acted, the present tragedy could have been avoided. All along, the government had presented a rosy picture of the State, but what was being witnessed was the flow of illicit brew across the State. He felt sorry that the “government itself has been encouraging the lucrative business of illicit liquor”.
The Leader of the Opposition also alleged that ganja was freely available across the State. The Director-General of Police had so far conducted three special drives to check its sale. Even then, the sale could not be controlled effectively and so the DGP had now launched Operation Ganja Vettai 4.0, he said.
