"No govt proposal to provide poor consumers quality liquor at cheap rates": Excise Minister H Nagesh
Bengaluru, Dec 31: With his purported comments on plans to provide poor consumers quality liquor at cheap rates drawing flak, Karnataka Excise Minister H Nagesh on Tuesday clarified there was no such proposal before the government.
"It is true that there is a demand for supply of good quality liquor at low price.
There was also a proposal in this regard since 2013, but after becoming Excise Minister, no such proposal has been submitted before the government," he said in a statement.
The Minister clarified that he had only stated there has been such a demand for long.
"But my statement has been published contrary to the fact in certain sections of the media. I want to reiterate that there is no proposal at present before the government on providing cheap or subsidized liquor," he said.
Earlier in the day, speaking to reporters, the Minister had spoken about the department considering supply of high quality liquor at cheap rates for the sake of the poor.
"....We will discuss,we will take good decisions, because I too want to do something that is new....want to give cheaper drinks of high quality, this is in my mind," he said.
The Minister said the poor too have to live right and collecting money should not be the only intention.
"...we want to experiment at distilleries, test at labs and then we have to leave it to the market, not abruptly, we should not do it for business."
To a question about any plans for subsidized liquor, Nagesh said "let's see in the budget, I will consult with the Finance department and our officials and let you know.
Reacting to the Minister's comments, Congress leader V S Ugrappa asked the government to stop the "liquor culture".
"Instead of making people drink such things, provide them clean drinking water," he said.
Earlier too in September, Nagesh had retracted his statement favouring door delivery of liquor to individuals with required permits after it drew flak from several women's organisations.
He had then clarified there was no such proposal before the state government.
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South African police arrest suspect in mass shooting that killed 12, including 3 children
Johannesburg (AP): A 32-year-old suspect has been arrested in connection with a mass shooting which claimed the lives of 12 people including three children at an unlicensed pub earlier this month, South African police said on Monday.
The man is suspected of being one of the three people who opened fire on patrons in a pub at Saulsville township, west of South Africa's capital Pretoria, killing 12 people including three children aged 3, 12 and 16.
At least 13 people were also injured during the attack, whose motive remains unknown.
According to the police, the suspect was arrested on Sunday while traveling to Botlokwa in Limpopo province, more than 340 km from where the mass shooting took place on Dec 6.
An unlicensed firearm believed to have been used during the attack was recovered from the suspect's vehicle.
“The 32-year-old suspect was intercepted by Limpopo Tracking Team on the R101 Road in Westenburg precinct. During the arrest, the team recovered an unlicensed firearm, a hand gun, believed to have been used in the commission of the multiple murders. The firearm will be taken to the Forensic Science Laboratory for ballistic analysis,” police said in statement.
The suspect was arrested on the same day that another mass shooting at a pub took place in the Bekkersdal township, west of Johannesburg, in which nine people were killed and 10 wounded when unknown gunmen opened fire on patrons.
Police have since launched a search for the suspects.
South Africa has one of the highest homicide rates in the world and recorded more than 26,000 homicides in 2024 — an average of more than 70 a day. Firearms are by far the leading cause of death in homicides.
The country of 62 million people has relatively strict gun ownership laws, but many killings are committed with illegal guns, according to authorities.
According to police, mass shootings at unlicensed bars are becoming a serious problem. Police shut down more than 11,000 illegal taverns between April and September this year and arrested more than 18,000 people for involvement in illegal liquor sales.
