- Youth Congress members organised protests in Surat and Jamnagar among other cities of the state.
- State AAP president Italia leads the protest at the BJP office in Botad and seeks justice for the families of the victims who have lost their lives in the tragedy
- Sanghavi says he does not want to politicise the tragedy
NE NEWS SERVICE
AHMEDABAD, JULY 27
Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and Youth Congress activists on Wednesday staged separate protests against the BJP government over the hooch tragedy in Gujarat that has claimed 40 lives in the last three days, and demanded the resignation of Minister of State for Home Harsh Sanghavi.
ભાજપ સરકારની રહેમ નજર હેઠળ ચાલતા દારૂના અડ્ડાઓના કારણે લઠ્ઠાકાંડ થયો છે. એટલે જ આ લઠ્ઠાકાંડ નહીં પણ હપ્તા ખાનારી સરકારનો હત્યાકાંડ છે#લઠ્ઠાકાંડ #prohibition pic.twitter.com/VKH1ytYlsc
— Gujarat Congress (@INCGujarat) July 27, 2022
AAP activists, led by state unit president Gopal Italia, held a protest against the government outside the BJP office in Botad town. Several people in Barwala taluka of Botad district have died in the last three days after consuming spurious liquor.
We would like to notify that there has been a false claim of police inaction by the Rojid village sarpanch. Botad police received a letter of anti-prohibition activities in the village on 04/03/2022, and immediate actions were taken addresing the same. #Police #GujaratPolice pic.twitter.com/49SdMvB8AB
— Gujarat Police (@GujaratPolice) July 27, 2022
Youth Congress members organised protests in Surat and Jamnagar among other cities of the state. They burnt Sanghavi’s effigy and demanded his resignation over the tragedy.
“Gujarat Youth Congress burnt the effigy of (Junior) Home Minister Harsh Sanghvi and demanded his resignation regarding the Botad hooch tragedy,” state Youth Congress president Vishwanathsinh Vaghela said on Twitter.
State AAP president Italia led the protest at the BJP office in Botad and sought justice for the families of the victims who have lost their lives in the tragedy.
લડેંગે, જીતેંગે!
'આપ' પ્રદેશ અધ્યક્ષ @Gopal_Italia ભ્રષ્ટાચારી અને બેહરી ભાજપ સરકારના કાન સુધી પીડિત પરિવારોનો અવાજ પહોંચાડવા સંઘર્ષશીલ! pic.twitter.com/EgPbokWPDE
— AAP Gujarat (@AAPGujarat) July 27, 2022
“AAP workers also demanded the resignation of Harsh Sanghvi, who has failed to control bootleggers. State President Italia along with AAP workers and local leaders staged a protest at Gandhi Chindhya Marg in Botad and the protest was supported by locals,” the party said in a statement.
ભાજપ, પોલીસ અધિકારી અને બુટલેગરોની સાંઠગાંઠથી ગુજરાતમાં ખુલ્લેઆમ દારૂના અડ્ડાઓ ધમધમી રહ્યા છે.#લઠ્ઠાકાંડ #Prohibition pic.twitter.com/fZRp7Pgtdp
— Gujarat Congress (@INCGujarat) July 27, 2022
Before organising the protest, Italia went to Rojid village where several persons have lost their lives and met the members of the bereaved families.
Quoting local residents, Italia claimed BJP leaders get honest police officers frequently transferred.
“If leaders of the ruling party work to weaken the law and order in this way, then how will the lives of the people in Gujarat be safe? According to media reports, illegal liquor worth Rs 10,000 crore is sold in Gujarat. To whom this money goes is a big question,” the AAP leader said.
રાજ્ય સરકારે અમદાવાદ ગ્રામ્ય જીલ્લા અને બોટાદ જીલ્લામાં બનેલ ઝેરી કેમિકલ પિવાથી થયેલ મૃત્યુના બનાવોને ગંભીરતાથી લઈને તપાસ માટે તાત્કાલીક એક કમીટીની રચના કરી છે જેના દ્વારા સઘળા બનાવનો વિગતવાર અહેવાલ તૈયાર કરીને ૩ દિવસમાં સરકારશ્રીને સોપવામાં આવશે. #GujaratPolice pic.twitter.com/DsVMhmAUv2
— Gujarat Police (@GujaratPolice) July 26, 2022
Amid opposition protests, Sanghavi said he does not want to politicise the tragedy.
The death toll due to consumption of illicit liquor reached 40 on Wednesday. Of the deceased, 31 belonged to different villages in Botad district, while nine were natives of its neighbouring Ahmedabad district.
Preliminary police investigations have revealed that some small-time bootleggers of villages in Botad district made spurious liquor by mixing water with methyl alcohol or methanol, a highly poisonous industrial solvent, and sold it to local residents for Rs 20 per pouch.
