Excise Minister H. Nagesh made a U-turn in less than 24 hours after announcing the government’s proposal on door delivery of liquor to individuals.
This apparently followed instructions from Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa, who apparently felt that such a proposal in times of floods could stir a fresh controversy and cause embarrassment to the government.
It is believed that the Chief Minister pulled up Mr. Nagesh on Thursday morning and sought an explanation from him. He reportedly also told the Minister to hold another press conference and clarify that the government had no such plans to implement home delivery of liquor.
‘Misinterpreted’
The Minister told presspersons on Thursday that his statement was being “misinterpreted”. “My statement has been misinterpreted. I had cited examples of liquor delivery systems in many other States. There is no plan of delivering liquor to someone’s doorstep. I apologise to women who felt offended by my statement. Our objective is to eradicate illicit liquor from the State,” he said.
The Excise Minister had said on Wednesday that the department was mulling over a proposal of delivering liquor to home.
A few months ago, hundreds of women from northern districts had taken a padayatra to Bengaluru demanding prohibition, during the earlier regime.