 Orissa Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes and Excise Minister Kalindi Charan Behera on Tuesday resigned from the cabinet owning moral responsibility for the illicit liquor deaths of at least 10 people in Ganjam district.
| "It'sh all my fault! [Hic!]" |
Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik reportedly asked Behera to resign after visiting Golabandha village in the district where the incident took place on Saturday, an official said. Behera told media persons at state capital Bhubaneswar that he had resigned because he was upset over the deaths. "Taking moral responsibility, I tendered my resignation to the chief minister," he said.
"Mishter Prime Minishter! I quit! [Hic!]"
"Would you like me to see you to the door?"
"No, thanksh! I can crawl myshelf!" |
Many people in Golabandha, some 20 km from Berhampur town in Ganjam, allegedly consumed the locally made brew on Saturday night and complained of stomach pain, vomiting and blurred vision.
| "Man! Thish stuff is powerful! You're all fuzzhy aroun' the edgesh, Gobinder!" |
Officials said 10 people had died and around 40 were taken ill after drinking the brew.
| "Gobinder? Shay! Wake up, Gobinder!" |
Last month, 26 people had died after consuming spurious liquor in the same district. Though the government set up a judicial commission to probe the incident, opposition parties demanded Behera's resignation.
| "Thash right! He'sh gotta go! [Hic!]" |
Earlier, the government suspended district excise chief Susanta Das and chief of the local police station Satis Padhi. About 300 people died in 1992 after consuming spurious liquor in Cuttack and Bhubaneswar city. Since then, several women's organisations have been demanding total prohibition on the sale and manufacture of liquor.
| "Lips that touch liquor with never touch mine!" |
The state imposed a ban on alcohol in 1994, but the Congress party, which came to power in 1995, lifted prohibition arguing that it was causing huge revenue losses. After Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik took office in 2000, the government itself began retailing liquor.
"Liquor! Getcher liquor right here! Only two bits!"
"Here, fellah! I'll have one o' them!... Shay! Izh that a snake head floating in there?"
"Yeah. Lends it a little extra kick!" |
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