Minister quotes lines from 'Madhushala', speaks on liquor's power to unite at de-addiction event
Balrampur, Sep 1: Chhattisgarh School Education Minister Premsai Singh Tekam courted controversy by reciting lines of Harivansh Rai Bachchan's legendary book 'Madhushala' at a de-addiction programme, and going on to say that liquor unites people but must be consumed in a controlled manner.
Post the programme here on Tuesday, the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party said there was no shortage of "cartoons" in the state's Congress government led by Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel.
A one-minute video of Tekam's speech at the programme, organized by the police under its 'Nasha Mukti Abhiyan' and attended by school children in Wadrafnagar, went viral on social media on Thursday.
"Harivansh Rai Bachchan ji had written 'mandir masjid jhagda karate, lekin ek karati madhushala'. But there should be control (in consumption of liquor). You should have control on your own," the minister said in his speech.
"I attended a meeting where one section opposed the consumption of liquor citing its ill effects, while another section favoured it citing its benefits. Liquor unites everyone. We also use it sometimes in celebrations and elections," Tekam said.
He went on explain that "daaru (liquor) meant 'D', which also stood for dilution with water as well as duration, as all of it must not be had at once.
He advised the gathering about the ill-effects of alcohol and said one must not get addicted.
Hitting out, BJP MLA Ajay Chandrakar said, "Bhupesh Baghel ji's government and party are full of cartoons. None of them have understanding of subjects. This is not a functioning government but a puppet show being controlled by Delhi (referring to the Congress high command)."
Tekam could not be contacted for his comments despite repeated attempts.
His statements on liquor come soon after state BJP MLA Krishnamurti Bandhi had recently suggested that "bhang and cannabis" be encouraged as alternatives to liquor, claiming persons hooked on these substances hardly commit offences like rape, murder and dacoity.
#WATCH | At a de-addiction drive, Chhattisgarh Min Premsai Singh Tekam says, "There should be self-control. I once went to a meeting where they spoke for & against liquor. One side spoke of its benefits. Liquor should be diluted, there should be a duration (to consume it)"(31.8) pic.twitter.com/FE8HJd3ktD
— ANI MP/CG/Rajasthan (@ANI_MP_CG_RJ) September 1, 2022
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Hoarding crash in Mumbai: 2 more bodies located under debris; rescue ops continue
Mumbai (PTI): Two more bodies were located under the debris at the site of a giant hoarding collapse in Mumbai as the search and rescue operation continued on Wednesday, an NDRF official said.
The bodies were spotted last night, but were yet to be pulled out, a civic official said.
Rescue teams had earlier recovered 14 bodies from the hoarding crash site, while 75 persons were injured in the incident, as per officials.
A small fire broke out at the incident site in Ghatkopar during the search and rescue operation on Wednesday morning, but it was immediately doused by the fire tenders deployed there, an NDRF official said.
"There was a small fire but it was extinguished immediately," the official said.
The search and rescue operation continued even 40 hours after the incident, officials said.
The illegal hoarding that stood on a piece of land in possession of the Government Railway Police (GRP) crashed on a petrol pump in Chheda Nagar area on Monday evening when the city was hit by dust storms and unseasonal rains.
