Gandhian Sasi Perumal had been on a fast for 34 days demanding implementation of total prohibition in Tamil Nadu and ended his hunger strike on March 4 in front of the Gandhi statue on the Marina beach. He said he was ending the fasting in deference to the appeals made by various political leaders and other activists. The Gandhian also alleged that the police had pressurized him on the previous day in the Rajiv Gandhi General Hospital to end his fast. On earlier two occasions he had to shift the venue of his strike under pressure from the police. On the second occasion when he was fasting at the residence of former Janata Party leader late Jebamani, behind Nageswaran Park in Mylapore, he was removed from there by the police, purportedly on a complaint by the owner of the house, and admitted in the hospital. When so many prominent persons visited the fasting Gandhian and pleaded him to end his fasting and the media gave wide coverage to his lonely struggle, none from the State government cared to call on him and persuade him. That is the regime of the ‘benevolent Amma’!
When asked at his press meet on March 3, whether prohibition was possible in the current scenario, DMK President Kalaignar said just because it was not possible, good deeds cannot be postponed. “Whether sale of alcohol and its use beyond limit should be allowed is the question that social activists and those running the government should answer.”
But the ADMK regime led by Jayalalitha must have seen conflict of interest in the fast under taken by the Gandhian demanding total prohibition in the state, when her government is bent on promoting sale of liquor through TASMAC retail outlets. Of course, he could have attracted her benevolence had he been an apologist of her like the other person for whom she was ‘graceful’ enough to stop her vehicle on her way to Siruthavur mansion and greet him during his march for the same cause of prohibition.
The only ‘achievement’ of her two year regime in Tamil Nadu is more than doubling the revenue through sale of liquor in TASMAC retail outlets, from Rs.12,000 crore to Rs.25,000 crore, the target fixed for this year ending on March 31. Many novel ideas were floated for promoting sale of liquor and one among them was to open deluxe wine shops with air-conditioned bars selling costly brands of liquor including imported liquor. Now they have introduced various imported beer brands with 8% alcohol at ‘moderate’ price of Rs.100. we have seen awareness campaigns being conducted for many healthy reasons. In January this year on the occasion of Pongal festival, the TASMAC workers were directed to conduct awareness campaign by erecting flex boards at prominent places in order to alert ‘customers’ of the impending three-day holidays, so that they can stock them at their residences and avoid ‘tension’.
Her regime do not fix targets for any other constructive tasks like distributing relief to drought-affected farmers or construction of the promised ‘green houses’ for people living in huts etc. But targets are fixed for sale of liquor by every TASMAC outlet depending upon the areas of their locations and if the targets are not achieved, the employees of the outlets are suspended and dismissed. TASMAC workers allege that corruption is rampant in the administration and officials get commission up to Rs.50 per case of new brands of liquor which are not sought after by ‘customers’ and each official, they say, get up to Rs.50,000 per month. Hence they pressurize the workers to thrust these brands on the customers by hook or crook.
These workers are fixed with sales indices for every week. They undergo mental torture and feel harassed. Now they are reported to have been ordered to sell before the end of this month, all the remaining old stock of liquor supplied to them six months back. They had been warned of sever action if they fail to sell those brands which are not demanded. They had told reporters that every outlet was supplied with minimum four cases of premium range items. Only one or two bottles were sold and the rest were remaining stagnant. Usually unsold items were brought under the category of ‘unsalable’ and returned to the manufacturing companies. But now they have been threatened that if they fail to sell them before this month end the value of the stock would be recovered from their salaries.
Kalaignar’s response now to the demand for prohibition is not empty words, as during the DMK rule, responding to the plea of PMK, he reduced the working hours of TASMAC shops to 12 hours (10AM-10PM) from 16 hours (8AM-12PM) during the previous ADMK regime. Instead of trying to reduce the working hours further the present ADMK regime had allowed the bars attached to the wine shops to remain open up to 10.30 PM to enable ‘customers’ who buy liquor in the last minutes to have their gulp in leisure. The DMK government also regularized the services of TASMAC employees and granted weekly holidays by rotation, 20 percent bonus and other facilities.
This is the real difference between Kalaignar’s rule and Jayalalitha regime. While he responded positively to the demand for limiting the sale and consumption of alcohol, Jayalalitha retorted by promoting the sale and consumption of alcohol. The actual expenditure incurred by her regime for all the free schemes implemented by it is far less than the revenue her regime fleeces the poor and downtrodden people by promoting liquor sales. Anybody having doubt over this fact can verity from the budget to be presented by the ADMK government this month. r
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