Booze not 'intoxicant', says Punjab health minister

December 23, 2015 04:56

Bizarre it may sound but Punjab Health Minister Surjit Kumar Jyani does not consider 'sharab' (booze) an intoxicant.

"Main sharab nu nasha nahin samjhda. Tusi sharab nu nasha keh nahin sakde. (I don't think 'sharab' (booze) is an intoxicant. You cannot call alcohol an intoxicant).

"The government gives licences for manufacturing liquor, we auction liquor vends. As long as it is done, sharab cannot be called 'nasha' (intoxicant)... You have liquor in army. Liquor is also served at parties," the BJP MLA told reporters during an interaction after inaugurating a de-addiction centre at Gidderbaha in Muktsar district yesterday.

Notably, Punjab's estimated revenue from liquor for the year 2015-16 stands at Rs 5,100 crore.

Latching onto the remark, opposition parties including Congress and Aam Aadmi Party attacked the Punjab government saying it "exposes" the SAD-BJP coalition's "double speak" and "mentality" even as Shiromani Akali Dal distanced itself from the statement.

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