Can Fadnavis demand liquor ban in Goa, asks NCP leader Khadse

Khadse dared the former Maharashtra chief minister to demand a similar liquor ban in Goa. “Liquor and wine flow freely in every gully across Goa. Fadnavis should first seek a complete ban on alcohol in Goa. Can he speak against liquor in BJP-ruled Goa,” Khadse sought to know.

Fadnavis is the election in-charge for the Goa Assembly polls and he is currently in that state campaigning extensively for the party.

When asked about his stand on the BJP’s liquor policy in states ruled by the party, Fadnavis said he raised issues related to Maharashtra as he was the Opposition leader of the state. “I am from Maharashtra. My concern is Maharashtra. I will not allow Maharashtra to turn into a madh rashtra (liquor state),” he said, adding, “We will protest against the MVA’s wine policy staunchly. The decision has already created unrest in several quarters. People are not in favour of it.”

Khadse, a former BJP minister, had quit the party to join the NCP in October 2020. He has often launched bitter attacks on Fadnavis.

While addressing a public function in Jalgaon, Khadse repeated his allegation that Fadnavis had gotten him entangled in a Pune land case on charges of corruption to tarnish his image. “I was falsely implicated in a land case by Fadnavis. It was a tactic to deny me the top post of CM,” he said.

“With both my seniority and experience, I was in the reckoning for the CM post. Had it happened, north Maharashtra region would have made it to the list of CMs,” Khadse pointed out. “There have been CMs who represented western Maharashtra, Marathwada and Vidarbha, but none from north Maharashtra has ever become the CM.”

The NCP, led by party president Sharad Pawar, has fielded 13 candidates for the Assembly polls in Goa. A team of 24 leaders and ministers have also been campaigning in the state.