BHUBANESWAR: Congress on Wednesday upped the ante against the State Government in the Assembly by holding Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik fully responsible for the hooch tragedy in Khurda and Cuttack districts which killed 36 persons. They demanded his immediate resignation over the issue. Relevant sections under IPC and other legislations maintain that the police are equally responsible for detection and checking the spread of any adulterated drink, which includes spurious liquor. Naveen, who holds the Home portfolio should resign, but he is trying to pass the buck onto other ministers and making them a scapegoat, Congress Chief Whip Prasad Harichandan said. The issue cropped up during a discussion on the admissibility of an adjournment motion notice on the faulty excise policy in the State. Alleging that Excise Minister Sarada Prasad Nayak failed to reply to the specific questions raised by the members during the discussion, Leader of the Opposition Bhupinder Singh led the walk out from the House.Since the deaths occurred after consumption of medicines punched with alcohol, the Health Minister should also resign, Singh said and demanded a clarification from the Chief Minister as to why only excise minister AU Singhdeo had to resign. Stating that hooch tragedies and judicial commissions to probe into these have become routine in the State, Harichandan said the State Government had never tried to solve the root cause. Shortage of country spirit mainly results in such type of tragedies, Harichandan said and added that Naveen had several times rejected proposals to meet the demand from government selected suppliers. Rectified spirit for manufacture of country spirit and other use is supplied by three organisations, Aska sugar factory, Shakti Sugar Mills, Dhenkanal, and Umeri Distillery Private Limited, Jeypore. The Aska sugar factory has stopped manufacturing after State Pollution Control Board (SPCB) withdrew no objection certificate. Harichandan said there were several proposals from the Excise Department to purchase country spirit from other manufacturers but the Chief Minister had rejected the proposal.Three companies were shortlisted for this in 2009 but this was also rejected by the Chief Minister under pressure of the liquor lobby, he alleged. His party colleague Santosh Singh Saluja, however, demanded the resignation of Health and Family Welfare Minister Prasanna Acharya for the deaths. The Health Minister is trying to protect the drug controller who is his relation and collects donation for election purposes, Saluja alleged. Acharya who was in the House dismissed charges as baseless and motivated. Making a statement, the Minister said the State Government has started several measures to check the spread of illicit liquor. Because of the progressive excise policy, excise revenue has increased to `1,094 crore in 2010-11 from ` 246 crore in 2002-03. Nayak said the State Government had passed the Odisha Excise Bill, 2008 to stop manufacture and sale of spurious liquor and submitted it for presidential assent. But it has been pending for the last four years, he added.
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