In a bid to highlight rampant availability of liquor in "dry" Gujarat, a 76-year-old man who claimed to be an anti-liquor crusader was held by the Gujarat Assembly security staff after he threw a small pouch suspected to contain suspected country-made liquor into the House today.
The incident took place when members of the Gujarat Legislative Assembly were taking part in a discussion on budget allotment for the agriculture department.
An elderly man, sitting in the audience gallery with many others, suddenly threw a small pouch containing some liquid along with a pamphlet, into the main hall of the House, after which Deputy Speaker Atmaram Parmar, who chaired the session today, asked sergeants to take him outside.
The speaker asked the sergeants to keep him under detention until the evening.
The pouch which landed near the seat of Congress MLA Shailesh Parmar was also seized by the sergeants.
Identified as Babu Patel (76), the man was then taken to the office of Chief Sergeant L N Jethva after which it was learnt that the pamphlet was printed by Patel in the form of an open letter to all 182 MLAs, including ministers and the Gujarat Chief Minister.
In the letter, Patel identified himself as a social worker fighting against liquor addiction.
Patel, who is a resident of Jetalvasana village in Mehsana district, stated in his pamphlet that despite writing numerous letters to ministers urging them to curb the menace of liquor sale and consumption in the state, which has been prohibited by law, nothing has been done.
He alleged that MLAs failed to stop the illegal trade in their respective constituencies. He questioned that if the Gujarat government could ban gutkha within a day, why it had not shown similar promptnmess in implementing prohibition.
Preliminary investigation has revealed that Patel is a retired school principal who wished to make his demands heard.
"Patel told us that after retirement, he began working as an anti-liquor crusader. As per his plan, he hid the pouch and his pamphlet in his turban to dodge security guards while entering the House. As per the Speaker's order, we have let him go," Jethva said.
When asked if the pouch contained liquor, Jethva replied that the liquid spilled after he threw the pouch, which did not give them a chance to verify its contents.
However, Congress MLA Shailesh Parmar claimed that the pouch contained liquor, since it had spilled near his seat. "From the smell of the spilled liquid, I could say that it was country-made liquor," Parmar said.
Emerging story. Watch this space for updates as more details come in
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